China Retains Liner Shipping Connectivity Lead

UNCTAD has released its liner shipping connectivity index (LSCI) for 2019, showing China retains its lead as the country best connected to others by sea, increased by 51% since 2006, with Singapore, Korea, Hong Kong and Malaysia rounding out the top-five list. The LSCI covers 178 countries and shows maritime connectivity trends from 2006 to 2019. It is calculated from data on the world’s container ship deployment and released annually.

The index's components include: the number of companies that provide shipping services, the number of services, the number of ships that call per month, the total deployed container-carrying capacity and the size of the largest vessel. The 2019 index also includes a new component covering countries that can be reached without the need for transhipment. Research shows that the absence of a direct connection is associated with a 42% lower value of bilateral exports.

(MarEx)