UNCTAD’s liner shipping connectivity index (LSCI) for 2019 shows that China has retained its lead as the country best connected to others by sea.
The country’s LSCI has increased by 51% since 2006.
“A country’s position in the global container shipping network – its connectivity – is an important determinant of its trade costs and competitiveness,” said UNCTAD’s chief of trade logistics, Jan Hoffmann.
Five of the top 10 best connected economies in 2019 are in Asia, with Singapore, Korea, Hong Kong (China), and Malaysia rounding out the top-five list, each with a score of more than 100, according to the index’s metrics.
At the other end of the table, small islands developing states (SIDS) have hardly seen any improvement, meaning trade in shipped goods remains problematic in those countries, with knock-on economic effects.
“We observe a ‘connectivity divide’ – a growing difference – between the best and worst connected countries,” Hoffmann said.
The LSCI covers 178 countries and shows maritime connectivity trends from 2006 to 2019. It is calculated from data on the world’s container ship deployment and released annually.
This year UNCTAD has expanded the time series in collaboration with MDS Transmodal to cover more countries, including several SIDS.
New component
The 2019 index also includes a new component covering countries that can be reached without the need for transhipment.
“Counting on a direct regular shipping connection has empirically been shown to help reduce trade costs and increase trade volumes,” Hoffmann said.
Research shows that the absence of a direct connection is associated with a 42% lower value of bilateral exports.
The other five components of the index remain unchanged.
- number of companies that provide shipping services
- number of services
- number of ships that call per month
- total deployed container-carrying capacity
- size of the largest vessel
