{"id":101923,"date":"2026-02-25T10:27:29","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T13:27:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shipping.einnews.com\/article\/895426939"},"modified":"2026-02-25T10:27:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T13:27:29","slug":"mapping-20-years-of-change-in-the-global-liner-shipping-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/02\/25\/mapping-20-years-of-change-in-the-global-liner-shipping-network\/","title":{"rendered":"Mapping 20 years of change in the global liner shipping network"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The long tail of highly connected countries also shortens. In 2006, the United Kingdom<\/b> had 117 direct partners, followed by Belgium <\/b>and the United States<\/b>. By 2026, the top position is held by Spain <\/b>with 97, followed closely by the United States<\/b>, China<\/b>, and the Netherlands<\/b>. The underlying cause for these trends is the process of consolidation in liner shipping, including mergers and acquisitions, which, combined with larger vessel sizes, encourages hub-and-spoke operations.<\/p>\n

The range between the best and worst connected countries remains high. In both years the least connected countries have only one or two direct partners\u2014these are mostly small island states. For these economies, direct maritime access is limited, and the decline in average connectivity globally is particular concern, as investments and new jobs require access to markets and to supplies.<\/p>\n

Competing and connecting: Countries served by the shipping lines<\/h3>\n

Two different metrics are useful to describe service intensity in the network.<\/p>\n

First, at the global level (across all bilateral links), the number of shipping lines per edge captures how intensively each country pair is served. <\/b>The median remains unchanged at four liner companies, while the global average declines from 9.76 to 8.32 between 2006 and 2026. This combination indicates that the \u201ctypical\u201d link is stable, but heavily served routes have lost choice over time, making the overall distribution more uneven.<\/p>\n

Second, at the country level, we look at the average number of lines per direct connection for each country. <\/b>In 2006, a typical country had 6.7 companies per link, with a median of five, but the range was wide: from countries averaging only two operators per route to a few with averages approaching twenty\u2011four. This reflected large differences in competitive conditions across countries, particularly disadvantaging many small developing economies and small island states. By 2026, this country\u2011level pattern largely persists, though with lower averages across much of the distribution. Some countries continue to enjoy routes served by many companies, while many others remain reliant on a small number of operators. The persistence of low per\u2011country averages for less connected economies underscores the continued unevenness of service availability in the global network.<\/p>\n

Improving connectivity<\/h3>\n

A country\u2019s position in the global liner shipping network depends on three key determinants3<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Its domestic cargo base and hinterland:<\/b> Carriers are more likely to call in a port if there is demand for import and export cargo.<\/li>\n
  2. Its geographical position: <\/b>The closer a country is to the main shipping routes, the less costly it is for the shipping line to deviate and call in an additional port.<\/li>\n
  3. Port performance:<\/b> The time ships and their cargo spend in port is a key consideration for shipping lines to choose a port. Shippers, i.e. the carriers\u2019 clients, have also an interest in short cargo dwell times.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Shipping lines may not only choose to call in a port, but also potentially invest through vertically integrated terminal operators. Once a terminal is operated by a shipping line-associated operator, it is more likely that its sister shipping line or alliance chooses this port \u2013 with the collateral that competitors my prefer not to call elsewhere.<\/p>\n

    The World Bank Group is supporting its clients to improve their position in the global shipping network to ensure that trade-driven development creates the necessary jobs. Performance indicators such as the Container Port Performance Index (<\/b>CPPI<\/b><\/a>)<\/b> or the Logistics Performance Indicators (<\/b>LPI<\/b><\/a>)<\/b> help identify potential improvements in the time ships and containers spend in port. The Global Supply Chain Stress Index (<\/b>GSCSI<\/b><\/a>)<\/b> tracks supply chain stress, including port congestion. And the Port Reform Toolkit (<\/b>PRT<\/b><\/a>)<\/b> helps governments and private investors identify options for public-private-partnerships and potential investments in partnership with the World Bank Group.<\/p>\n

    <\/a><\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    … of consolidation in liner shipping<\/span>, including mergers and acquisitions … shipping<\/span> network depends on three key determinants3. Its domestic cargo<\/span> … cargo<\/span> spend in port is a key consideration for shipping<\/span> … interest in short cargo<\/span> dwell times. Shipping<\/span> lines may not …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101923\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}