Shipping and World Trade : Key Facts

Shipping and World Trade : Key Facts:

Shipping trade estimates are often calculated in tonne-miles, as a way of measuring the volume of trade (or 'transportation work ', as it is sometimes referred).

World seaborne trade 1969-2010

Source: Fearnley's Review

Throughout the last century the shipping industry has seen a general trend of increases in total trade volume. Increasing industrialisation and the liberalisation of national economies have fuelled free trade and a growing demand for consumer products. Advances in technology have also made shipping an increasingly efficient and swift method of transportation. Over the last four decades total seaborne trade estimates have quadrupled, from just over 8 thousand billion tonne-miles in 1968 to over 32 thousand billion tonne-miles in 2008.