Source: UNCTAD Review of Maritime Transport, various years. http://www.unctad.org/

Ton-Miles Shipped by Maritime Transportation, 1970-2007 (in billions)

In 2007 the total ton-miles performed reached a record just under 33,000 billion ton-miles, a 209% increase over the 1970 value. This implies an annual growth rate of about 2.1%. Oil and oil products, iron ore, grain and coal accounted for the great majority of the ton-miles shipped, 70% in 2007. Oil alone accounted for 38% of ton-miles. Containers and other goods composed the remaining 30%. The share of containerized traffic is growing as containers and other cargo accounted for 18.8% of ton-miles in 1970, 22.2% in 1980, 25.8% in 1990 and 30.4% in 2007.

Over the 1970-2007 period the average distance over which cargoes were transported did not change; about 4,100 nautical miles. The average transport distance only marginally increased for oil (from 4,500 to 4,600 nautical miles) and slightly decreased for other dry cargoes (from 3,100 to 2,900 nautical miles). Only in the major bulk trades, such as coal and iron ore, is there a significant lengthening of the voyage distance (from 4,600 to 5,400 nautical miles), mainly because of the more distant sources of supply of the major bulk cargoes and new major consumers of this imported cargo, notably China.