China Shipping tops European customer-service poll (Llyod's List)
(10-01-2012)CHINA Shipping Container Lines has emerged as European shippers’ favourite ocean carrier in a new customer-service poll that saw Maersk Line score relatively poorly.Containerisation International’s first shipper-sentiment survey produced some unlikely winners and losers.
The Shanghai line topped the table or equalled the lead in seven categories, including invoicing accuracy, timely bills of lading, on-time shipments, and cleanliness of containers.Overall, CSCL achieved an aggregated score of 83 points. Orient Overseas Container Line came second with a score of 76, followed by Hapag-Lloyd with 75 points.
The top 10 carriers used by each panellist who ranked the lines scored an industry average of 72 points. The survey rated all lines scoring 72 points or more as providing a satisfactory service. But several top names failed to make the grade, according to Lloyd’s List sister publication, CI.
Mediterranean Shipping Co and APL both scored 70, followed by Maersk with 69 points. K Line came in last place with 65 points.
Maersk came out best-ranked for financial health, 82 points putting it way ahead of its competitors, even though it receives no state backing. The line in whose financial well-being European cargo interests had least confidence was CMA CGM, a score of just 50 reflecting industry concern about the French group’s high levels of debt.
The CI poll canvassed a panel of 24 European shippers and forwarders. Panel members rated carriers serving the European trades out of a top score of 100. The panellists were given categories by which to judge carriers’ performance, and then ranked the 10 they each used most, says CI survey co-ordinator, Rebecca Moore.
Ms Moore acknowledged that some results, including China Shipping’s strong performance, had come as a surprise. Maersk’s relatively poor overall showing was also unexpected, given the initiatives that the Danish carrier has introduced that focus on customer service. However, Maersk did well in certain categories such as timely bills of lading and container availability.
Lines will be assessed next on their performance in Asia, followed by a shipper survey covering the American trades. CI plans to publish the results of its shipper-sentiment surveys on a quarterly basis.
In terms of ease of contact, Hapag-Lloyd was voted the best by European shippers with a score of 81: Maersk was seen as the worst with just 53 points. For on-time shipments, CSCL and Hamburg Süd equalled top with 79 points. Evergreen was the worst performer, achieving a score of only 58.
Evergreen also came bottom of the poll for cleanliness of containers, container availability and space availability on chosen vessels. APL came out worst for claims processing with just 32 points, with CSCL ranked the best.
Maersk appears to have been let down badly by claims processing, scoring just 46 points in this category.
