Drewry: Port congestion undermines the reliability of services – Trade News | 24/11/25

Ships operating the Asia-Europe route are facing increased delays and a drop in schedule reliability: the consultant Drewry reports that in October vessel waiting times at European ports averaged 1.9 days and schedule reliability fell to 39%. This situation highlights structural bottlenecks at terminals such as Rotterdam, Antwerp, Hamburg and Valencia, where even advanced programmes—like the Gemini Alliance between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd aiming for 80 % reliability—acknowledge that this target remains a “theoretical objective” under current conditions. Shipping lines are considering charging a premium for punctual arrivals, but the real constraint remains port infrastructure: limited access, overcrowded yards and a domino effect of off-schedule vessels triggering chain congestion. Link to Article