Only 4% of container port operators report AI earnings gains, survey finds

Only 4% of container port and terminal industry respondents have achieved measurable earnings gains from artificial intelligence (AI), despite widespread adoption and investment in the technology, according to a survey by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the Terminal Industry Committee 4.0 (TIC4.0).

The survey of more than 100 leaders across the container ports and terminals ecosystem found that 44% of respondents had moved beyond initial testing to scaling AI or a more advanced stage. On average, respondents were already using or exploring 16 of the 43 AI use cases assessed, ranging from extracting information from documents (62%) to predicting when a crane or straddle carrier will fail (48%).

However, only 11% of respondents said that they systematically track AI’s contribution to efficiency or margins, exposing a gap between implementation and measurable business value.

Unclear return on investment (ROI) is the main obstacle to closing that gap. Cited by 41% of respondents, it ranked ahead of data quality (32%), systems integration (30%) and implementation costs (28%). Doubts about returns were particularly pronounced below senior management level, with 44% of respondents outside the C-suite identifying ROI uncertainty as a barrier, compared with 21% of senior executives.

This story was originally published by World Cargo News. Read the full story at World Cargo News →