Low global trade growth
Low global trade growth goes hand in hand with a weak momentum in the
global flow of transportation. Growth rate in international seaborne trade fell
each year between 2012 and 2015. Growth came in at just 2% in 2015 – its
slowest pace since 2009, a year plagued by recession. The situation is similar in
global airfreight, where transport volume grew by an average of just 1.5% a year
between 2010 and 2015. Between 1993 and 2010, airfreight transport volume
expanded by more than 5% a year.
The slow expansion of trade in recent years is ultimately also reflected in
domestic freight transport. In 2015, the total volume of goods transported in
Germany was only around 3% higher than it was in 2011, corresponding to an
average annual growth rate of 0.7%. Between 1995 and 2011, transport volume
increased by an average of 2.6% a year. The total volume of goods transported
in Germany is likely to grow by only slightly over 1% a year between 2017 and
2019.
EU Forecast
euf:ba18.d:155/nws-01