Global maritime trade continued to expand in 2003, with similarly healthy growth projected for 2004, according to UNCTAD´s Review of Maritime Transport, 2004 (1). The 3.7% annual growth rate for 2003 - reaching 6.17 billion tons - compared favourably to the modest 1.0% recorded for 2002. The expansion is attributable mainly to the economic performance of the US, Japan and China, and to a lesser extent Europe.
Asian countries had the largest share (37.2%) of the total tonnage of seaborne world exports. Exports of crude oil from Western Asia, and manufactured goods from China and elsewhere in East and South-East Asia, contributed to this result. Countries in Europe garnered 25.1% of world tonnage loaded, with the lion´s share going to EU members. Industrialized countries in North America and developing countries in the Americas made up 20.7% of world export tonnage; the latter grouping represented about two thirds of the total tonnage for the hemisphere due to their sizeable exports of crude oil, iron ore, coal and grains. The shares of Africa and Oceania in world tonnage exported were 8.9% and 8.0%, respectively.
The level of freight rates increased in the tramp and liner shipping sectors, the report states. Freight indices for the several types of tankers indicate that 2003 was a good year for tanker owners, and that the upward trend is likely to have continued into early 2004. A similar picture is reported for dry bulk carriers and containership sectors.
The annual report focuses on developments in world maritime transport, particularly for developing countries, and this year focuses on countries in Asia. In this year´s Review:
- Trade growth in 2003 was positive for the large majority of Asian countries. The highest export growth rates were registered for Kuwait (+40%), Lebanon (+39%), China (+35%), Kazakhstan (+33%) and Yemen (+26%). The highest import growth rates were claimed by Azerbaijan (+58%), China (+40%), Qatar (+30%), Kazakhstan (+27%) and Viet Nam (+26%).
- Asian countries are significant world players in many sectors of maritime transport. They account for about half of all crews, two thirds of global port operators, 83% of container shipbuilding and 99% of demolition. Twenty-eight of the world´s 50 largest liner shipping companies are based in Asia.
- Containerized trade of South and East Asian countries is forecast to expand at an annual rate of 11% in 2004 and 2005, fuelled by strong intra-Asian trade and Chinese exports to North America and Europe.
- Container transshipment through new and existing hub ports in Asia has also continued to expand. In 2003, the world´s six largest container ports, and 20 of the world´s top 30 container ports, were located in that region. Record growth rates were enjoyed particularly by Chinese ports in 2003: Shanghai and Shenzhen ports grew by 31% and 40%, respectively.
Developing countries´ share of world seaborne trade decreases …
UNCTAD statistics show that the overall share of world seaborne trade for developing countries decreased slightly in 2003. These countries accounted for 48.2% of goods loaded and 29.7% of goods unloaded, compared to 48.8% and 30.9%, respectively, in 2002. Oil and other commodities constitute a large proportion of loaded goods.
The share of Asian developing countries of total goods loaded and unloaded also dropped last year, to 28.9% and 20.7%, respectively. For developing countries in Africa, the share of loaded seaborne goods dipped to 6.5%, while unloaded goods fell to 3.2%. The share of maritime trade for developing countries in America slid from previous levels, reaching 12.3% for goods loaded and 5.4% for goods unloaded.
For global seaborne trade, the Review reports that tanker cargoes grew strongly, by 3.4%; dry cargoes did even better, at 3.8%. The latter was due mainly to a remarkable 9.1% annual growth rate in major bulks, which more than compensated for slow annual growth in other dry cargoes. Among major dry bulks, iron ore and coal fared well, with annual growth of 11.6% and 7%, respectively. Grains, bauxite/alumina and phosphate rock trades were almost static. In the liner trades, container throughput in ports increased by 9.2%, setting a new record of 266.3 million TEUs. Container cargo shipped by developing countries moved under new US security regulations being enforced along the main routes.
… but share of world fleet grows
Developing countries´ share of the world fleet mounted, from 20.8% to 21.8%, while in terms of absolute capacity the developing-country fleet increased by 10.1 million dwt in early 2004, to 181.4 million dwt. Asian developing countries expanded their deadweight tonnage to 136.0 million at the beginning of 2004, up from 126.9 million the previous year. These countries now account for 17.4% of world tonnage, or 75.0% of the fleet of all developing countries. African developing countries, by contrast, maintained their 0.7% of world tonnage (3.1% of all developing-country tonnage).
Registration of ships by developed market-economy countries accounted for 26.9% of the world fleet. At 1.0 million dwt, open-registry countries´ fleet expansion to 399.5 million dwt was minimal, but this comprised 46.6% of the world fleet in 2004 (vs. 47.2% the previous year). Measures to ensure minimum security and environmental standards began coming into force in connection with the open-registry fleet often referred to as flags of convenience.
Worldwide fleet expansion continued at 1.5%, reaching 857.0 million dwt early last year. Newbuilding deliveries during 2003 were 49.2 million dwt (up 0.2 million dwt from the previous year); tonnage broken up and lost, 25.6 million dwt (down from 30.5 million dwt the previous year), for a net gain of 23.6 million dwt. Oil tankers and dry bulk carriers made up 72.9% of the total world fleet. The containership fleet rose 9.3% to 90.5 million dwt, or 10.6% of the world fleet.
The average age of the fleet of developing countries (13.1 years) is slightly more than the world average (12.5 years). However, this average masks differences by type of vessels. The average age of both tankers and bulk carriers of developing countries is higher than world averages. The reverse is true for containerships, which are an average 8.8 years old, in contrast to the 9.2-year world average. In the containership category, the proportion of vessels less than nine years of age is slightly above two thirds of the fleet of developing countries. General cargo vessels and all other vessels of developing countries are older than world averages.
The operational productivity of the world fleet, measured in terms of tons of cargo carried per deadweight ton, increased to 7.2 in 2003 from 7.0 in 2002. Productivity, measured in terms of thousand ton-miles per deadweight ton, also rose, up to 28.7 from 27.5 in 2002. These results reflect increased load factors and are consistent with a decline in tonnage surplus to 10.3 million dwt, or 1.2% of the world merchant fleet.
