UNCTAD Report Reveals Shipping Costs Burden Developing Countries Disproportionately

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has published its latest annual report, Review of Maritime Transport 2024, which sheds light on the significant challenges poorer nations face in meeting their shipping needs. According to the report, disruptions fueled by climate change and geopolitical tensions are severely affecting global trade and supply chains, with small island developing states (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs) being particularly hard hit.

The report emphasizes that developing economies bear a much heavier burden for shipping compared to wealthier nations. UNCTAD’s data shows that the transport work intensity (TWI) per dollar of maritime trade in these economies is double that of developed countries.

Looking ahead, UNCTAD forecasts a 2% increase in maritime trade volume and a 3.5% rise in containerized trade volume in 2024. Between 2025 and 2029, total seaborne trade is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 2.4%, while containerized trade is projected to increase by 2.7%. The growth is being driven by higher demand for key commodities such as bauxite, coal, containerized goods, grain, iron ore, and oil.

In 2023, maritime trade volumes reached 12.3 billion tons, marking a 2.4% increase after a contraction in 2022. However, the report notes that the shipping industry continues to face significant challenges, with complexity, volatility, and uncertainty defining the operational landscape in 2023 and the first half of 2024.

In her introduction to the report, Rebeca Grynspan, secretary-general of UNCTAD, noted that disruption has become a persistent feature of the global shipping industry. The 2024 edition of the report also marks the final contribution from Jan Hoffmann, the chief of UNCTAD’s logistics branch, who is leaving his post in Geneva to take up a new position with the World Bank in Washington, D.C.

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