Container service reliability made another steady improvement in June with the aggregate on-time performance for the three key East-West trades rising by 5.7 percentage points to extend the data-series record to 77.3 percent, according to Carrier Performance Insight, the online schedule reliability tool provided by Drewry Supply Chain Advisors.

Drewry's latest Container Leasing report shows that the world's fleet of operationally leased containers grew annually by almost 11 percent throughout 2011-12, although a smaller 6.4 percent is being forecast for 2013, in line with the poorer global trade forecast.

Average global freight rates have fallen to a 15-month low, according to Drewry's new online Container Freight Rate Insight.