Growth of seaborne trade, 1950–2005

Growth of seaborne trade, 1950–2005

Meanwhile sea trade was growing faster than at any time since the early nineteenth century,

with imports increasing from 500 million tonnes in 1950 to 7 billion tonnes in 2005

(Figure 1.11). This growth was led

by Europe and Japan. Both had

been badly damaged during the

war, and set about the reconstruction

of their economies. Released

from their colonial empires, the

European multinationals set about

post-war reconstruction. Expansion

of heavy industries such as steel

and aluminium, combined with the

substitution of imported oil for

domestic coal in power stations,

railway locomotives and rising car

ownership, produced rapidly growing

imports, particularly of bulk

commodities. This growth persisted

through the 1960s and the

upward trend in imports was reinforced

by the switch from domestic

to imported sources for key

raw materials such as iron ore, coal

and oil. By the early 1970s the

European economy was maturing and demand for raw material intensive goods such as

steel, aluminium and electricity stabilized.

The growth of Japan followed a similar pattern, but changed the focus of world shipping,

because it was the first major industrial economy in the Pacific region.

Development had started in the late nineteenth century, but after 1946 the Japanese

economy was reorganized and the ‘trading houses’ took over the traditional coordinating

role of the zaibatsu. Leading industries such as shipbuilding, motor vehicles, steel and

shipping were selected by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry which coordinated

growth for development, and during the 1960s the Japanese economy embarked

upon a programme of growth which made it the world’s leading maritime nation.

Between 1965 and 1972 Japan generated 80% of the growth of the deep-sea dry cargo

trade, and by the early 1970s it built half the world’s ships and, taking account of open

registry vessels, controlled the world’s largest merchant shipping fleet.

In the 1970s the two oil crises coincided with the end of the European and Japanese

growth cycle and the lead in trade growth switched to the Asian economies – notably

Figure 1.11

Sea trade by region, 1950–2005

Source: United Nations Statistical Yearbooks39

CONTAINER, BULK AND AIR TRANSPORT, 1950–2006 1.6 C

H

A

P

T

E

R

1

South Korea, which embarked on a programme of industrial growth. Emulating Japan,

it rapidly expanded its heavy industries such as steel shipbuilding and motor vehicles.

Then, in the 1980s, after two decades of total isolation and many centuries of restricted

contact with the West, the Chinese economy opened its doors to capitalism and trade.

There followed a period of remarkable economic growth, coupled with a move towards

a more Westernized capitalist economic system.

The world economy was entering a new consumer-driven era, and during the 1960s

the flow of motor cars, electronic products and a host of others increased very rapidly

and the framework of trade widened, bringing in Asian economies and a more extensive

trade with Africa and South America. This turned sea trade into a complex network

connecting the three industrial centres in the temperate latitudes of the Northern

Hemisphere – North America, western Europe and Japan – which generated about 60%

of the trade, and drawing in raw materials and exporting manufactures.

Shipping’s ‘industrial revolution’

Trade expansion on this scale would not have been possible without a major reform of

the transport system. The new transport model that emerged gradually over 20 years had

the three segments shown in Figure 1.10: bulk shipping, specialized shipping and containerisation.

During the next 35 years many new ship types were developed, including

bulk carriers, supertankers, liquefied gas tankers, chemical tankers, vehicle carriers,

lumber carriers and, of course, container-ships.

The development of bulk transport systems

The new bulk shipping industry was mainly masterminded

...