World trade, and particularly that which is driven by international freight shipping, is by far one of the largest single chunks of the economy. Indeed, for the last couple of decades, world trade has grown on average nearly twice as fast as world production.
Chances are, something you are wearing or used today was transported to this country in one of the gigantic steel shipping containers that ride on the backs of high shipping freighters. By selling goods and services to other countries, we are able to sustain the overall postie GDP of the country, which is how the wealth of a given country is determined.
Indeed, the U.S. particularly stands out when it comes to international trade — all one needs to do is consult a an international trade directory. In 2011, the U.S. goods and services exports supported an estimated 9.7 million jobs. The U.S. is definitely the world’s largest trading nation, with exports of goods and services of over $2.1 trillion in 2011.
International trading is also the way that many poor countries break out of the poverty cycle. Asia, the poorest continent in the world 40 year ago (once twice as poor as Africa is today), and now it has the fastest growing economy and is twice as rich as Africa. Generally, trade drives growth and 80% of the poverty reduction that has lifted 500 million people around the world above the the poverty line in the last 15 years has been because of economic growth.
To discover international business opportunities, it is important to keep your scope very wide, and look at developing countries, who often have the most untapped potential for this type of growth. In fact, developing countries had the largest share of global seaborne trade in 2008 (60% of all goods loaded and 56% of all goods unloaded). This, in the middle of a world wide financial crisis, is indicative of their resilience in the economic landscape and continuing growth.
International freight shipping is easily forgotten about when thinking about the economy and making a profit, but the fact is that it is extremely integral and must be considered!
