ABSTRACT

This chapter focuses on the maritime dimension of trade flows and offers a review on the links between trade and maritime transport. It further proposes the methodological aspects of a global analysis using shipping networks as distance parameters into the gravity model destined to explain trade flows among world countries. The maritime network architecture is considered as a facilitator rather than as a sole component of international trade. Liner shipping connectivity is thus seen as a trade facilitator against distance friction. In liner shipping, the architecture of container flows is also shaped to a large extent by the specific network configurations of ocean carriers. Thus, container shipping is a trade-off between shippers' needs to connect markets and carriers' imperatives to deploy their services to meet demand. The indicators available on a country basis, such as the liner shipping connectivity index(LSCI), can be considered as a proxy of the accessibility to global trade.