Ocean Carriers Quest for Quality 2019: Top service during challenging times

As executive editor Patrick Burnson has been documenting in the pages of Logistics Management (LM), a day of reckoning is upon the ocean cargo industry, one that that is sure to leave carriers and logistics services providers scrambling to meet new compliance standards.

And as most ocean shippers are well aware, the new 0.5% sulfur cap on fuel content for the global maritime industry, promulgated by the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) and a steep drop from the present 3.5% limit, means the container shipping industry must offset up to $10 billion in incremental costs starting Jan. 1, 2020, when the cap is slated to take effect.

“As we’re hearing, the new fuel rule will expose carriers on eastbound Asia-Americas routes plus Asia-Europe routes, which together account for about 20% of container shipping volume globally and could add up to $3 billion in additional costs,” says Burnson. “This new challenge, on top of the industry’s steady expansion of fleet capacity and its dramatically increasing financial leverage, will likely further constrain carriers’ room to maneuver—making it yet another tough year on the high seas.”

No matter how the industry responds to IMO 2020, we can be sure that the 9 carriers sailing away with Quest for Quality gold will do everything in their power to maintain world-class service levels. This year, LM readers have Trailer Bridge pulling in with a category leading 61.33, the single highest weighted score in our 2019 Quest for Quality survey. In fact, the company put up top marks across all of the attribute categories as well.