Trade Routes
Trade between an origin group of countries and a destination group of countries is referred to as a trade route.
| Top Trade Routes (TEU shipped) 2017 | |||||
| Route | West Bound | East Bound | North Bound | South Bound | Total |
| Asia-North America | 7,490,000 | 19,482,000 | 26,572,000 | ||
| Asia-North Europe | 9,924,000 | 5,139,000 | 15,063,000 | ||
| Asia-Mediterranean | 5,504,000 | 2,409,000 | 7,913,000 | ||
| Asia-Middle East | 3,340,000 | 1,400,000 | |||
| North Europe-North America | 3,284,000 | 2,120,000 | 5,404,000 | ||
| Asia-East Coast South America | 730,000 | 1,344,000 | 2,074,000 | ||
| North Europe/Mediterranean-East Coast South America | 830,000 | 850,000 | 1,680,000 | ||
| North America-East Coast South America | 794,000 | 474,000 | 1,268,000 | ||
Serving the Trade Routes
There are about 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 |
|---|---|
| Asia-East Coast North America | 19 |
| Asia-West Coast North America | 54 |
| Asia-North Europe | 20 |
| Asia-Mediterranean | 29 |
| North Europe-North America | 32 |
|
Mediterranean-North America |
17 |
| Asia-Middle East | 43 |
| Asia-South Asia | 53 |
| North America-Mid-East/South Asia | 10 |
| South Asia-Europe | 20 |
| Middle East-Eastern Europe | 36 |
| Oceania | 46 |
| East Coast South America | 14 |
| West Coast South America | 31 |
| South Africa | 19 |
| West Africa | 46 |
| Total | 487 |
Notes: Services may be counted on more than one route.
Source: Drewry Container Forecaster Q1 & Q2 2018