World Seaborne Trade
Source: UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Maritime transport moves over 80% of goods traded worldwide. It connects global value chains, carrying raw materials and semi-processed goods to production hubs and delivering finished products to consumers. These flows are vital for industrialization, economic growth and job creation.
Seaborne trade has evolved over the decades, shaped by containerization, the rise of developing economies and shifting production and consumption patterns.
Historically, developing countries served mainly as loading hubs – major exporters of raw materials but marginal importers of manufactured goods. But this has evolved since the 1970s, driven by structural changes such as the oil crises, trade liberalization, increased private sector participation in port operations, the rise of container shipping and reforms to liner shipping alliances
The shift accelerated in the early 2000s as developing countries increased trade among themselves – including in raw materials, oil and manufactured goods. Their share of global maritime freight rose from 38% in 2000 to 54% in 2023. The surge was led by Asia, with China driving much of the growth.
Table below captures world seaborne trade since 2000, split into Crude Oil, Other Tanker trade and Dry Cargo
In 2023, total word seaborne trade was 11,576.7 million tonnes (~11.6 billion tonnes), having crossed the 10 billion tonnes mark for the first time ever in 2013. Crude Oil accounted for 2,086.4 million tonnes or 18%, other tanker trade 2,284.8 million tonnes or 19.7% and Dry Cargo million 7,205.5 tonnes or 62.3%
| Year | Crude oil MMTPA | Other tanker trade MMTPA | Dry cargo MMTPA | Total goods MMTPA | Share Crude oil pct | Share Other tanker trade pct | Share Dry cargo pct | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2086.4 | 2284.8 | 7205.5 | 11576.7 | 18.0 | 19.7 | 62.2 | 100.0 |
| 2022 | 2039.4 | 2275.6 | 7335.1 | 11650.2 | 17.5 | 19.5 | 63.0 | 100.0 |
| 2021 | 1927.5 | 2299.5 | 7435.2 | 11662.2 | 16.5 | 19.7 | 63.8 | 100.0 |
| 2020 | 1997.4 | 2170.8 | 7011.4 | 11179.6 | 17.9 | 19.4 | 62.7 | 100.0 |
| 2019 | 2121.1 | 2201.0 | 7107.7 | 11429.7 | 18.6 | 19.3 | 62.2 | 100.0 |
| 2018 | 2137.6 | 2121.2 | 7170.5 | 11429.3 | 18.7 | 18.6 | 62.7 | 100.0 |
| 2017 | 2085.9 | 2102.4 | 7014.0 | 11202.3 | 18.6 | 18.8 | 62.6 | 100.0 |
| 2016 | 2058.7 | 2021.7 | 6577.0 | 10657.4 | 19.3 | 19.0 | 61.7 | 100.0 |
| 2015 | 1858.4 | 1918.1 | 6490.1 | 10266.6 | 18.1 | 18.7 | 63.2 | 100.0 |
| 2014 | 1888.0 | 1797.3 | 6442.6 | 10127.9 | 18.6 | 17.8 | 63.6 | 100.0 |
| 2013 | 1999.9 | 1858.9 | 6145.9 | 10004.7 | 20.0 | 18.6 | 61.4 | 100.0 |
| 2012 | 2069.9 | 1801.4 | 5885.6 | 9756.9 | 21.2 | 18.5 | 60.3 | 100.0 |
| 2011 | 2029.9 | 1834.1 | 5583.6 | 9447.6 | 21.5 | 19.4 | 59.1 | 100.0 |
| 2010 | 2016.2 | 1681.9 | 5173.6 | 8871.6 | 22.7 | 19.0 | 58.3 | 100.0 |
| 2009 | 1927.0 | 1518.9 | 4586.7 | 8032.5 | 24.0 | 18.9 | 57.1 | 100.0 |
| 2008 | 2062.3 | 1674.0 | 5127.0 | 8863.2 | 23.3 | 18.9 | 57.9 | 100.0 |
| 2007 | 2040.5 | 1524.9 | 5035.2 | 8600.6 | 23.7 | 17.7 | 58.5 | 100.0 |
| 2006 | 2092.0 | 1582.8 | 4667.1 | 8342.0 | 25.1 | 19.0 | 56.0 | 100.0 |
| 2005 | 2072.5 | 1452.6 | 4370.7 | 7895.8 | 26.3 | 18.4 | 55.4 | 100.0 |
| 2004 | 2014.0 | 1288.9 | 4098.6 | 7401.5 | 27.2 | 17.4 | 55.4 | 100.0 |
| 2003 | 1894.2 | 1180.0 | 3752.1 | 6826.2 | 27.8 | 17.3 | 55.0 | 100.0 |
| 2002 | 1789.5 | 1124.8 | 3551.5 | 6465.8 | 27.7 | 17.4 | 54.9 | 100.0 |
| 2001 | 1821.7 | 1092.2 | 3371.5 | 6285.4 | 29.0 | 17.4 | 53.6 | 100.0 |
| 2000 | 1814.1 | 1090.0 | 3342.0 | 6246.2 | 29.0 | 17.5 | 53.5 | 100.0 |
World seaborne trade in 2000 was 6,246.2 million tonnes, comprising Crude oil 1,814.1 million tonnes or 29%, other tanker trade 1,090 million tonnes or 17.5 and Dry Caro 3,342.1 million tonnes or 53.5%
Thus while quantum of trade has grown in all three categories from 2000 to 2023, share of Crude oil has fallen while that of Dry Cargo has increased, followed by a smaller increase in share of other tanker trade
View the trends graphically