Shipping and world trade
It has been
calculated that more than 90% of world trade, in tonnage terms, goes by ship.
Despite the technical innovations that have transformed transport in the last
two centuries, ships remain the most economical means of moving large quantities
of goods from one place to another.
They are cheaper
to build and run than other forms of transport, such as road and railways,
and they can carry huge amounts of cargo – some modern oil tankers can carry
more than half a million tons of oil at a time.
Another reason
for the continuing popularity of ships is that the producers of raw materials
are often located far away from the main consumers and they are often separated
by sea. The main oil-producing region of the world is located in the Middle
East. Yet demand is greatest in North America, Europe and Japan, all situated
many thousands of miles away. The biggest grain-producing region of the world
is in North America. Ships are the best way of getting the product to markets
in Europe and other parts of the world.
The only seaborne
trade that has declined in the last fifty years has been in people. For many
centuries, ships provided the only way for people to travel between continents.
Passenger shipping boomed during the 19th century, when emigration
from Europe to North America and other countries reached its peak. But the
invention of the aircraft, and especially the development of jet aircraft,
which dramatically reduced flying times and costs, meant that passenger shipping
declined greatly from the 1950s onwards. Towards the end of the 20th
century, however, the development of cruising as a recreation led to a new
boom in passenger shipping.
In tonnage
terms, most seaborne trade consists of goods carried in bulk. Generally speaking,
producers of bulk commodities are located may hundreds or thousands of miles
from consumers and without ships it would be impossible to meet demand. As
the maps show:
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The biggest grain-producing region is North America, followed by South America and Australia. The biggest consumers are in Europe and Asia.
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The biggest coal producer is Australia, followed by North America and South Africa. The biggest consumers are Europe and Japan.
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Australia and South East Africa are the major iron ore producers, with the major consumers being located in Europe and Japan.
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The Middle East is by far the biggest producer of crude oil, followed by the Caribbean and Africa. Most of it goes to Europe, North America, Japan and South East Asia.
World seaborne
trade 1987-1999
World seaborne
trade has grown steadily throughout most of the last fifty years, but the
rate of growth has fluctuated and in some years movements have actually declined.
During the 1970s and early 1980s trade was adversely affected by a fall in
demand for energy and a decline in economic activity, largely associated with
sharp rises in the price of oil. In the 1990s trade was affected by economic
problems that affected some countries in east Asia. The figures are in millions
of tonnes.
Source:
Fearnleys Review 2000
The volatility
of world trade
Although
world trade has generally grown over the last century, it sometimes goes down
as a result of adverse economic factors. During the 1990s, the economies of
several countries, especially in East Asia, suffered and this was sufficient
to have an impact on world trade as a whole.
Source: World Trade Organization 1999
Leading
exporters and importers in world merchandise trade 1999
In 1999
the United States was the biggest importer and exporter of goods, followed
by Germany. The relatively high positions of the Netherlands, Belgium and
Hong Kong are due to their importance as trade distribution centres. Most
of the goods handled came from or went to other countries. The figures are
in billions of US dollars.
Source: WTO 1999