“Survey Says” – Shipper’s not Happy with Ocean Carriers Performance

A recent survey conducted by Drewry and the European Shippers’ Council and reported by Logistics Management, reveals a large gap between what shippers believe is acceptable service and the actual service they receive from their ocean carriers.

300 survey respondents gave an overall rating of 3.1 on a scale of 1- 5 with 1 (very dissatisfied) and 5 (very satisfied). This is the third annual survey conducted and the score results were 0.1 lower than last year’s survey; certainly not heading in the right direction.

So what did the survey results actually say?  Here is a snapshot:

• “The survey results reinforce the opinion that more transparency is needed from maritime carriers.  Service levels, performance targets, market improvements, and price structuring should be set with a focus on clarity and an open observation analysis,” according to Jordi Espin, ESC’s maritime policy manager.
• Shipper satisfaction was reported “least favorable” for clarity on prices and surcharges, transit times, and reliability of booking cargo shipped, ranking between 2.8 and 3 on the survey.
• On the positive side of the ledger, the carrier attributes that scored highest in the survey were carrier financial stability, documentation accuracy, and availability of equipment which received scores of between 3.2 and 3.4.
• A total of 4% of shippers were “very dissatisfied” with the ocean carrier services and only 6% were “very satisfied.”
• Shippers expressed concern that carrier performance levels had deteriorated between 2017 and 2018 in the following areas:
  • The range of different available carriers
  • The range of different available services
  • The price of service, (no surprise here)
  • And the overall carrier service quality
• And finally, according to Philip Damas, head of the logistics practice at Drewry, “in the long term, carriers need to address their shipper’s growing needs for predictability and visibility of carrier performance.”

So what do these survey results actually tell us?  Ocean shippers have been and will continue to be concerned about transparency of carrier pricing.  This concern has been around forever and we suspect will not improve anytime soon.

Secondly, Ocean carrier performance levels will also continue to be questioned and challenged.  What if anything will the ocean carriers do to improve shipper’s concerns?

The real impact of a survey such as this would be a collaborative effort between the carriers and their customers to map out a plan to improve the areas that need improvement and create a compelling vision for the future.  So will this actually happen – only time will tell.