Maritime Traffic per Continent and Ocean, 1960-1990

The two above figures demonstrate the evolution of the maritime traffic tonnage between 1960 and 1990. Several trends can be identified. The share of Europe and North America (via the Atlantic) has shown a relative decline. On one hand, Asian maritime trade was growing strongly and on the other, economic integration (ALENA and EU) increased the intra-continental exchanges that generally occur by land transport.

Pacific Asian countries knew an important increase of their relative share of the maritime traffic. The industrial activities of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan require an increasing quantity of oil products (from the Middle East and Southeast Asia), of iron ore (Australia) and coal (Canada and United States). Besides, the growth of the industrial production in China and in several newly industrialized countries increased their dependence on maritime transportation. The relative growth of the Indian Ocean is almost entirely attributable to oil traffic. Considering that 65% of the known global oil reserves are in the Middle East, the weight of the Indian Ocean will remain an important component of maritime transport.

Capacity problems are also inducing changes in global maritime flows. For instance, issues linked with the capacity limits of the Panama Canal and congestion along the American West Coast ports have favored the use of the Suez Canal as an alternative for freight flows from Asia to the American East and Gulf coasts. As of 2005, 22% of all this trade segment was using the Suez Canal.