Changing trade patterns brought on by geopolitics have helped drive one of the largest increases in annual tonne-mile trade growth in over a decade, new figures show.
Total tonne-miles in 2023 hit 62.3trn, a year-on-year growth of 3trn, or 5%, just behind 2017’s 5.2% but otherwise the fastest rate since 2011, according to Clarksons.
The broker said tonne-mile trade statistics, which take into account both the volume of trade moved and the distance involved, generally provide a “better indicator of vessel demand than trade in tonnes alone”.
