The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)’s Review of Maritime Transport 2023 report explores facts and figures regarding maritime trade, fleet, and transport.
#1 Latin America and Caribbean
- Maritime trade
In 2022, Latin America and the Caribbean experienced a significant reduction in container volumes compared to 2019, with the Caribbean coast of Panama recovering more quickly and showing better results in exports.
South-South trade, such as from Africa to Latin America and the Caribbean, contributed 12.5% to global containerized trade in 2022. Mexico’s share of imports into the United States has been growing as companies diversify their supply sources and reduce overdependence on China.
- Shipping fleet
Panama continued to lead in the number of vessels, commercial value, and gross tonnage of its fleet, but the Liberian register has surpassed it in terms of dead weight tons.
The Panama ship registry recorded a 4.2% growth in dead weight tons between 2022 and 2023, but this was dwarfed by Liberia’s 12.7% growth.
The Bahamas ship registry is the eighth largest flag in the world, with a fleet of 1,274 vessels totaling 72.6 million dead weight tons. Brazil is the largest ship-owning country in South America, with 382 vessels totalling 14.28 million dead weight tonnes, representing 1.45% of the global fleet.
- Maritime transport performance
Contract rates covering intra-South American trade rose by a dramatic 397% in 2022, compared with 2021. These increases were primarily down to strong demand while the supply capacity fell short.
Compared with 2019, the highest increases in contract rates were seen across routes originating from Asia and destined for South America. Asia-South America rates increased by 386% in 2022 when compared with 2019.
#2 Asia
- Maritime trade
In 2022, intraregional routes took a 27.6% share of global trade, largely due to dynamic intra-Asian container shipping activity and manufacturing supply chains specific to East Asian countries.
Intra-Asia routes serving intraregional supply chains recorded the highest growth rates from 2021 to 2022, reflecting global manufacturing patterns where China serves as the global manufacturing center.
Companies like Apple, Samsung, Sony, and Adidas have moved some manufacturing activities from China to South-East Asia due to labor costs and risk management considerations.
Global growth projections are at 3.2% for 2023 and 2.9% for 2024, with Asia, particularly India, South Asia, and Central Asia, projected to record the highest growth.
The transpacific route, trade between East Asia (mostly China) and the United States, continued to dominate global containerized trade flows but overall volumes fell by 6.5%.
Dry bulk shipments declined in 2022 due to disrupted Ukraine exports, high energy prices, and trends in the Chinese economy. Demand for major dry bulks improved in 2023, driven by subsequent economic recovery in China.
- Shipping fleet
At the start of 2023, 18 of the 35 major ship-owning companies were in Asia, with China being the second-largest ship-owning country after Greece. Ship owners in China have an 11.04% share of the world fleet, second only to Greece with 11.8%. Hong Kong, China is the world’s fourth-largest flag state of registration in terms of dead weight tonnage, with 200.07 million dead weight tons in its fleet.
- Maritime transport performance
In the second quarter of 2023, the most connected economies were in Asia, with China taking top spot. Asian countries continue to lead in cargo handling performance, with 18 of the top 25 ports globally in Asia.
Contract rates covering Asia to South America surged by 386% in 2022 compared with 2019, while Asia to Africa rates grew by 160% and from Africa to Asia by 248%.
#3 Africa
- Maritime trade
From 2018 to 2020, 32% of total African wheat imports came from the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Egypt coped with an 81% fall in wheat imports from Ukraine during the first eight months of the war by replacing the source of imports with the Russian Federation, the European Union, and the United States. Ethiopia replaced the loss of wheat supply from the Russian Federation and Ukraine with shipments from the United States and Argentina.
The war in Ukraine led European countries to import more gas from other suppliers, including Algeria, to compensate for the loss of shipments from the Russian Federation. South-South trade such as from Africa to Latin America and the Caribbean contributed 12.5% to global containerized trade in 2022.
- Shipping fleet
Liberia surpassed Panama as the world’s largest flag state of registration in terms of dead weight tonnage in 2022, with 378.3 million dead weight tons in its fleet. Liberia recorded a 12.7% growth in ship tonnage between 2022 and 2023. Nigeria is the largest ship-owning country in Africa, with 291 vessels totaling 7.94 million dead weight tons. Ships flying the flags of Liberia, Panama, and the Marshall Islands collectively accounted for more than one third of shipping’s global carbon emissions in 2022.
- Maritime transport performance
Maritime transport performance in Africa showed an increase in port calls by dry bulk carriers and liquid bulk carriers, with Tanger-Med Port in Morocco ranking fifth in the World Bank’s Container Port Performance Index (CPPI). Policy reforms within the East African Community (EAC) have reduced the time to move cargo from Mombasa to Kampala and the cost of transport from Mombasa to Nairobi.
