The Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) has experienced its reliability improve since joining the 2M alliance in mid-January with its on time arrivals rising from 54 per cent to 64 per cent.

Even Maersk, league leader in on-time arrivals, recorded an increase in reliability from 78 to 82 per cent, according to London shipping analyst Drewry.

Reliability gains have not been limited to the 2M Alliance, as the industry continues to improve its performance as a whole, reported Newark's Journal of Commerce.

On the three major east-west trades, reliability has hit a record high of 77 per cent since May 2014 and has risen five times in the interim period.

Driving home the industry-wide improvement is the fact that in May 2014, the space between the most and least reliable carriers was 40 percentage points and has now fallen to 26 points.