Global trade has grown again this year. Ships are carrying more goods than last year, routes are expanding and new markets are emerging. Yet behind the overall growth, regional trends are diverging, including in the United States where containerized trade has slowed.
A wave of new regional policies around the world is adding complexity to trade. From tariffs and port fees to differing climate rules and export restrictions, governments are introducing measures that reflect national priorities but increase cost and uncertainty.
These policies directly affect how liner shipping operates, because shippers whose cargo we carry are constantly adjusting by surging, stopping or redirecting their bookings. For carriers, the result is volatile demand and constant network adjustments. While shippers can act quickly to change a booking, it takes much longer for carriers to adjust global shipping networks.
As regional approaches to trade grow more fragmented, it is important to remember the economic gains that strong global shipping connections enable.
A 2025 S&P study shows liner services carry almost 65% of all US seaborne trade by value, moving more than $1.5 trillion in goods each year. Nearly 45% of those imports are components and materials used in domestic production, underscoring how closely US industry depends on global supply chains. Overall, liner shipping supports 9 million American jobs and contributes $1.7 trillion to GDP — the equivalent of Florida’s economy.
Supporting economic growth begins with recognizing that trade, and the shipping that enables it, are global, interconnected logistics systems. The access to low-cost global maritime networks opens new markets for major economies and has done more to improve the standard of living in least developed nations than any regional policy initiative. Trade flows best when it flows freely.