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Change through Trade

Shipping makes the world go round


It is amazing to think that it is now possible to travel anywhere in the world within 24 hours by plane. A five-minute telephone call between Bremen and New York, which cost more than 60 dollars back in 1960, can now be made for a few cents or even free via the Internet. And products like burgers and Coke lemonade are familiar to young people all over the globe.

The intensification of international economic relations and consolidation of markets for goods and services beyond the borders of individual countries are the drivers of globalisation. This international exchange in itself is not new. What is new is the speed at which changes occur in a world that is interlinked via the Internet and social networks more than ever before. For both globalisation advocates and opponents – it is undisputed that its economic dimension has created new opportunities for all countries worldwide. The unequal distribution of resources on the Earth ensures that they must be traded if production is or has to take place on their basis.

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which was concluded in Geneva in 1947, shortly after World War II, forms the basis of globalisation. There states commit themselves to abolishing customs duties and laws that hinderfree trade.

In the past world trade gained momentum primarily through the success of the GATT and the subsequent World Trade Organisation (WTO). Another important aspect was China’s economic opening, followed by its accession to the WTO in 2001.

The exports of the People’s Republic to the rest of the world quadrupled within five years after the country joined the WTO.

The world population has never grown so rapidly as in the last two centuries. It surpassed the seven-million mark in mid-2011. Approximately two thirds of the world population live in Asia. The strong growth of many economies, as well as rising purchasing power, are major pillars for business and industry. The balance of power is changing. In the meantime the so-called newly industrialised regions have become, or are on the way to becoming, active economic units. They have disengaged themselves from the faltering economies of the industrialised countries.

Globalisation needs ships

The maritime transportation business sector has grown so much that it is now a fixed element of the international trade in goods. More than 95 % of the crossborder trade is accounted for by maritime shipping.

Customers look for the most effective transport solution from the country of origin to the destination in terms of costs, time, reliability and other factors that influence the cost structure of the entire shipment.

The success story of maritime transportation is based on the growth of world trade as well as the international division of labour. As the demand for vessel capacity rose, the respective transport costs dropped. This process was significantly fostered by the introduction of the container in the 1960s and the related substantial increase in the productivity of maritime shipping. Parallel to the growth in sea freight volume, the size and load capacity of ships rose, bringing about a reduction in fixed costs per transported product unit. While the biggest container vessel was able to load 752 TEU containers in 1968, presentday ships sail the oceans with a capacity of 14,000 TEU – and building of the next generation capable of holding 18,000 TEU is already under way. At the end of 2011 there were around 55,000 vessels in operation worldwide.

Globalisation as we know it today, would never have taken place in this way without maritime shipping. How it will continue depends on the development of the world economy, technical progress, geopolitical trends, energy resources, environmental aspects as well as the shipping industry itself.

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Archive ON BOARD

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