Global Maritime Trade: UNCTAD Review of Maritime Transport

UNCTAD's maritime trade data show 12.1 billion metric tons of goods were loaded for international maritime trade in 2024, 3.9% more than in 2023 [1]. UNCTAD describes this as robust growth above the long-run average since 2000 and clearly higher than the uneven growth seen since 2018 [1].

UNCTAD's Review of Maritime Transport is the standard global reference for this series [2].

China remained the world's leading maritime-freight economy by volume discharged in 2024, taking in around 3.0 billion metric tons - about 25% of global discharging volume [1]. On the loading side China is smaller, with around 670 million tons loaded in 2024, roughly 6% of the world total [1].

Australia, the United States, Brazil, the Russian Federation and Indonesia all loaded more cargo for international maritime transport than China [1]. UNCTAD notes that developing economies' seaborne imports exceeded exports by almost a billion tons in 2024, pointing to a widening trade imbalance in volume terms [1].

UNCTAD groups seaborne trade into tanker (crude oil, refined products, gas, chemicals), dry bulk (iron ore, coal, grain, bauxite, phosphate) and other dry (containerised and general cargo). The 2024 Review of Maritime Transport treats maritime trade as the backbone of global commerce and highlights that heavy goods shipped to developing economies have risen as a share of world tonnage over the last two decades [1][2].

Data in this report come from UNCTADstat and the UNCTAD Review of Maritime Transport [1][2]. 'Loaded' means exports of internationally traded goods shipped by sea; 'discharged' means imports. The two totals are not equal at the country level - the difference reflects transit, trans-shipment and measurement differences. Values are in metric tons.