Developments in tanker trade, which accounts
for one third of global sea borne trade, mirrored the
behaviour of global oil demand. In 2012, demand
for crude oil increased marginally by 1.5 per cent
in volume. Meanwhile, the growth of contai nerized
trade decelerated to 3.2 per cent, from 7.1 per cent
in 2011. The volumes of such trade continued to
be affected by weak performance on the main-lane
East-West routes linking Asia to Europe and North
America. Growth was mainly driven by an increase
in that trade on secondary routes, in particular,
South-South, North-South and intraregional routes.
Containerized trade accounts for about 16 per cent of
global merchandise trade by volume and over 50 per