Significance of maritime shipping for global trade

Maritime transport is the cornerstone of global trade, with between 80% and 90% of globally traded goods transported through sea routes. An international merchant fleet numbering about 100,000 ships supplies the entire world with raw materials, food and goods. Dry bulk goods (e.g. iron ore, coal, grain) account for about half of sea freight, while oil and gas make up around a quarter. In 2022, this amounted to a freight volume of 12 billion tonnes. It is estimated that freight volumes have increased sixfold between 1970 and 2023.

Containers and a container ship at a terminal at night. — © Fatih Turan (Pexels)

Globalisation and supply chain dependence

Globalisation has resulted in production increasingly being outsourced abroad, leading to enormous dependence on the smooth functioning of maritime supply chains. Disruptions in critical shipping routes have major fallouts on the global economy. Some examples are the blocking of the Suez Canal by the container ship Ever Given in 2021, which led to extensive delays and financial costs, as well as the Panama Canal drought in 2023, which drastically restricted freight volumes and ship traffic.

These incidents illustrate how vulnerable global supply chains are to disruptions. The current geopolitical situation in the Middle East and the Red Sea have led shipping companies to redirect their ships through longer and more expensive routes around the Cape of Good Hope. This in turn results in longer transit times, higher transportation and insurance costs and supply bottlenecks, which cause production outages and competitive disadvantages.

The importance of maritime trade for Switzerland

Switzerland may be a landlocked country but maritime trade is of critical importance for it nonetheless. With its international orientation, the Swiss economy relies on the smooth functioning of supply chains and maritime trade. In fact, Switzerland is connected to the sea through the Rhine and the Swiss ports along the Rhine.

In terms of gross tonnage Switzerland ranks ninth in the world and fourth in Europe among countries where shipping companies are based, according to statistics of the Federal Department of Finance (FDF). The Swiss shipping sector comprises an estimated 60 companies with about 900 ships. The most well-known is the MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) based in Geneva, which is the world's largest container shipping company. If ships owned by commodity trading companies based in Switzerland are included as well, there are an estimated 2,600 ships which operate out of Switzerland. These numbers reflect the strong integration of the Swiss economy with global maritime trade.