What happened. In August 2026 only 49.9% of container ships reached port on schedule — the weakest reading since September 2022, according to Sea-Intelligence data reported by The Loadstar on 25 September. Late vessels arrived on average 6.81 days behind schedule. July had already set the low for the year: 56.4% on time, with an average delay of 6.06 days.
DP World: this is not a blip, it is the new baseline
DP World, one of the world’s largest terminal operators, argues in its latest white paper that the numbers reflect a structural shift in how global trade is organised. The drivers it lists are all long-term: geopolitical tension, shifting trade policy, climate disruption and manufacturing moving between countries.
The Red Sea still weighs on the network. Suez Canal traffic is running at roughly half its 2024 level, and capacity routed around the Cape of Good Hope is up 89%. Yet the main source of delay in August was congestion in Asian ports.
The gap between carriers is wide
Maersk was the most punctual line at 67.3%, ahead of Hapag-Lloyd (61.5%), MSC (55.2%) and CMA CGM (50.6%); Wan Hai trailed at 23.2%. Among the alliances, Gemini — Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd — reached 77.8%, against 48.3% for Ocean Alliance and 43.2% for Premier Alliance. On Asia–Mediterranean, the trade that feeds Italian and southern European ports, reliability stood at 61.8%.
What it means on the quay
A late ship does not disappear. It turns up later, often alongside others. The terminal loses the rhythm its shifts and fleet were planned around and ends up working in waves: quiet days, then two or three vessels to handle at once. In those peaks the constraint is rarely the quay crane. It is the yard — how many reach stackers and empty container handlers are available to move, stack and deliver boxes.
If irregularity becomes the rule, the yard has to be sized for the peak rather than the average. That has been the thread of this column since August: the bottleneck has moved ashore, and the debate over what drives congestion is far from settled. August’s figures make it tangible. For many terminals the fastest answer is reserve capacity: refurbished machines ready to go into service, and spare parts to keep the existing fleet running.
What to watch next
- Sea-Intelligence’s September figure: another fall would support DP World’s reading;
- reliability on Asia–Mediterranean, which translates directly into workload at Italian ports;
- waiting times at European terminals as carriers phase their return to Suez;
- the gap between Gemini and the other alliances: if it holds, shippers will move volume — and the peaks will move with it.
Best Lift supplies refurbished reach stackers, empty container handlers and heavy-duty forklifts, with the spare parts to keep them working when the yard is running flat out.
Sources: Sea-Intelligence, Global Liner Performance, July 2026 data (press release of 25 August 2026); The Loadstar, 25 September 2026, for August data and the DP World white paper.
