Trade Routes
Trade between an origin group of countries and a destination group of countries is referred to as a trade route. The top twenty trade routes account for over 60 percent of the global container trade volume.
| Top 20 Containerized Trade Routes, 2009 and 2010 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| DESTINATION | ORIGIN | 2009 TEUS (Millions) | 2010 TEUS (Millions) |
| United States | Greater China | 7.1 | 8.5 |
| European Union | Greater China | 5.8 | 6.9 |
| Other Asia | Greater China | 4.3 | 5.3 |
| Other Asia | Other Asia | 4.5 | 5.0 |
| Middle East and Africa | European Union | 3.1 | 3.4 |
| Greater China | United States | 3.2 | 3.4 |
| Middle East and Africa | Greater China | 2.7 | 3.3 |
| European Union | Other Asia | 2.8 | 3.1 |
| Greater China | European Union | 2.9 | 3.1 |
| Other Asia | European Union | 2.6 | 2.9 |
| Greater China | Greater China | 2.6 | 2.9 |
| Greater China | Other Asia | 2.3 | 2.8 |
| Middle East and Africa | Other Asia | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| United States | Other Asia | 2.3 | 2.6 |
| United States | Latin America | 2.2 | 2.4 |
| Japan | Greater China | 2.1 | 2.4 |
| Other Europe | Greater China | 1.8 | 2.3 |
| United States | European Union | 1.8 | 2.1 |
| Latin America | Greater China | 1.6 | 2.0 |
| European Union | Middle East and Africa | 1.6 | 1.9 |
| Rest of World | 39.7 | 45.3 | |
| World Total | 99.7 | 114.3 | |
Note: TEUs are fully loaded. Greater China includes China, Hong Kong S.A.R. and Taiwan R.O.C. Other Asia includes all of Asia and Australasia except Greater China, Japan and South Korea.
Source: IHS Global Insight, World Trade Service
There are approximately 500 liner shipping services providing regularly scheduled service (usually weekly) that enable goods to move between ports along the many trade routes of the world.
| Route | Services |
|---|---|
| Far East- North America |
69 |
| North Europe- Far East | 43 |
| Far East- Mediterranean | 41 |
| North Europe- North America | 22 |
|
Mediterranean- North America |
19 |
| Europe- Mid- East/ South Asia | 52 |
| North America-Mid-East/South Asia | 10 |
| Far East- Mid- East/South Asia | 86 |
| Australasia | 30 |
| East Coast South America | 29 |
| West Coast South America | 32 |
| South Africa | 23 |
| West Africa | 49 |
| Total | 505 |
Notes: Services may be counted on more than one route.
Source: Drewry Container Forecaster Q1 & Q2 2012