Shipping and world trade: driving prosperity

Shipping’s ability to offer economic and efficient long-distance transport puts it at the centre of the world economy.

Some 11 billion tons of goods are transported by ship each year. This represents an impressive 1.5 tons per person based on the current global population. Ship-ping’s capacity to transfer goods and materials from where they are produced to where they will be ultimately consumed underpins modern life.
For an economic region such as the European Union, shipping accounts for 80% of total exports and imports by volume, and some 50% by value.

As of 2020, the total value of the annual world shipping trade had reached more than 14 trillion US Dollars.