Peter T. Leach, Senior Editor | Feb 27, 2012 10:14AM EST
Electronic container cargo booking in 2011 outpaced overall industry volume growth by nearly four-fold, according to figures released Monday by INTTRA, an electronic booking portal for the container shipping industry.
The company said transactions last year grew 24 percent year-over-year to 22.4 million container transactions in 2011, which it said represented the largest share of global ocean containerized freight e-commerce. Overall industry volume growth grew 6.5 percent, according to Drewry Maritime Research.
“This growth reflects the industry's continued desire to maximize focus on core competitive differentiators,” the company said.
Electronic bookings of cargo space streamline and standardize the processes and common transactions in ocean container shipping via a global transactional network that connects carriers and their customers.
Usage of the company’s I-ACT online channel increased by 36 percent, year-over-year. INTTRA identified the following markets as having substantial year over year growth: China, 21 percent; United States, 28 percent; United Kingdom, 52 percent; South Korea, 63 percent, and Italy, 75 percent growth.
The growth of booking transactions on trades with emerging markets was particularly strong. The top 10 emerging markets as ranked by logistics provider Agility showed significant year-over-year growth in INTTRA usage: India, 25 percent; Saudi Arabia. 123 percent; Indonesia, 40 percent; Russia, 135 percent; Malaysia, 44 percent; Chile, 21 percent, and Mexico, 24 percent.
-- Contact Peter T. Leach at pleach@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @petertleach.