The performance of world seaborne trade in 2013 was shaped by various trends, including a more balanced growth in demand (trade), a continued persistent oversupply in the world fleet across the various market segments (see chapter 2 for a more detailed discussion), relatively high bunker price levels, as well as a wider use of slow steaming, especially in the container-ship sector. Volumes expanded at the slower rate of 3.8 per cent, taking the total to nearly
9.6 billion tons. Of these shipments, dry cargo (major and minor dry commodities carried in bulk, general cargo, breakbulk and containerized trade) accounted for the largest share (70.2 per cent), followed by tanker trade (crude oil, petroleum product and gas) which held a 29.8 per cent share (tables 1.3 and 1.4, and figure 1.2). Much of the expansion in 2013 continued to be driven by growth in dry-cargo flows which grew by 5.5 per cent to reach 6.7 billion tons.