World shipping is expected to grow less in 2022, only 1.4%, compared to 2021, when it recorded a 1.4% increase, at an annual rate, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) projected.

By 2022, UNCTAD expects maritime trade growth to moderate and by 2023-2027 to expand at an annual average of 2.1%, a slower pace than the previous three-decade average of 3.3%.

For years, containerized trade was the fastest growing segment.

However, UNCTAD forecasts modest growth of just 1.2% in 2022. By 2023, a slight improvement to 1.9% is expected.

This is according to the Review of Maritime Transport 2022 report.

The slowdown is due to several factors. Not only to the closures due to the pandemic. Macroeconomic headwinds and the slowdown in the Chinese economy also play a role.

In addition, inflation and the rising cost of living have changed consumer habits.

People are now spending less. And in many cases, they prefer services to goods.

World shipping

By 2022, the operating outlook remains complex. Globally, inflation and the cost of living are rising.

In China, which is the world’s largest exporter, a zero Covid policy triggered stoppages and disrupted manufacturing, logistics and supply chains.

At the same time, in Ukraine, a major food exporter, Black Sea ports have been closed since the beginning of the war.

Industrial actions and labor strikes in several ports around the world, such as in Germany, the Republic of Korea, South Africa and the United Kingdom, have also affected shipping.

Meanwhile, a series of extreme weather events, with, for example, floods, hurricanes and heat waves in Australia, Brazil, Pakistan, East Africa, Europe and the United States, are also having an impact.

All of these issues pose further problems for global supply chains and logistics, and for maritime trade.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, global economic growth forecasts were revised downward, with fears that the world economy could enter recession and stagflation.