Table 8
Value and Weight of Worldwide and U.S. Oceanborne Export Freight: 1995-2007
| Year | World exports | U.S. exports | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value (billions U.S. $) |
Weight (millions of short tons) | Value (billions U.S. $) |
Weight (millions of short tons) | |
| 1995 | 2,252 | 4,651 | 228 | 475 |
| 1996 | 2,354 | 4,758 | 238 | 451 |
| 1997 | 2,422 | 4,953 | 225 | 432 |
| 1998 | 2,243 | 5,631 | 192 | 405 |
| 1999 | 2,354 | 5,683 | 182 | 400 |
| 2000 | 3,027 | 5,984 | 199 | 415 |
| 2001 | 2,901 | 5,891 | 199 | 399 |
| 2002 | 2,979 | 5,948 | 191 | 384 |
| 2003 | 3,646 | 6,598 | 206 | 373 |
| 2004 | 4,551 | 6,893 | 234 | 416 |
| 2005 | 5,290 | 7,122 | 263 | 402 |
| 2006 | 6,301 | 7,761 | 308 | 434 |
| 2007 | 7,723 | 8,032 | 375 | 467 |
SOURCES: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research
and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation
Statistics, based on data from various sources.
World: Value-IHS Global Insight World Trade Service,
special tabulations from June 2009 Forecast Series, as of Sept. 29, 2009. Weight-United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Review of Maritime Transport, various issues, available at www.unctad.org
as of Oct. 3, 2009.
United States: Value-U.S.
Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, available at
www.marad.gov as of Oct. 2, 2009. Weight-U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterborne Commerce of the United States
2007, Table 1-6, available at
www.iwr.usace.army.mil as of Oct. 2, 2009.
- Between 1995 and 2007, world oceanborne export freight, as measured by weight, nearly doubled to 8 billion short tons. By comparison, the total weight of U.S. oceanborne exports remained steady.
- The weight, value, and physical characteristics of oceanborne cargo determine the type of vessels used for particular shipments (tanker, container, or bulk) and the seaports where they call. In 2008, Houston was the leading U.S. port by weight and Los Angeles was the top container port (USDOT RITA BTS 2009b).