Top 5 busiest shipping routes And Ways to save your Money.

Over 90% of global trade, according to the IMO, is carried out

by sea. Because of this, shipping routes are a crucial component
of trade. We examine five of the busiest highways in the globe
in this blog. By the blog's conclusion, you will also understand
the simplest strategy to cut costs throughout these times.

The import and export of fuel, manufactured commodities, raw

materials, and a wide range of other goods takes place through
the shipping business. Shipping is the core of world trade since
it carries the majority of goods over water.

The shipping routes you choose will ultimately determine how

quickly your cargo arrives at its destination, therefore it's
crucial that you stay informed on the most significant and
congested shipping routes.
But if you already have a shipping route in mind and want to
jump right into leasing a container for that route, try our public
search below. All you have to do is enter your pick-up and drop-
off locations and container type, and hit the search button. You
can then take your pick from a list of containers, suppliers, and
current leasing rates. And get your box in just a few clicks.
What are the top 5 busiest and most important shipping routes
in 2023?

The top 5 busiest and most important shipping routes in 2023

are

The Panama Canal (Asia- US)

The Suez Canal (Asia- Europe)
The English Channel (Europe-UK)
The Danish Straits (Russia- Europe)
The Strait of Malacca (Intra-Asia)
Let’s explore them in detail below

(Asia-US) The Panama Canal

The Asia-US East Coast trade route is the Panama Canal's

busiest vessel trade route, which streamlines important trade
processes between Asia and the US. Vessels going between the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans can link there directly. Every ship
travels between 2000 and 8000 fewer nautical miles thanks to
the Panama Canal. This artificial shipping route reduces the
distance travelled by about 8,000 miles and the transit time
from 67 days to just 10 hours. Close to 14,000 vessels use the
route every year. Its expansion in 2016 allowed larger vessels,
up to 14,000 TEUs, to pass through, which amplified the volume
of cargo that travels on this trade lane.

Suez Canal (between Asia and Europe)

The fastest and shortest sea route from Asia to Europe (through
the Atlantic and Indian Oceans via the Red Sea) is along one of
the busiest commerce routes in the world. The 24-day voyage
duration is reduced to 16 hours by this waterway. With over
100 ships crossing each day, it is one of the busiest ocean
routes. However, practically all mega-ships are deployed along
this route after they initially enter service due to the huge
volume of trade between Asia and Europe. This is also one of
the factors that contributed to the Suez Canal blockade in 2021
being a substantial obstacle to international trade. Additionally,
due to the canal's narrowness and inability to control two-way
traffic, vessels must wait.

The English Channel (Europe-UK)

This is the busiest sea route in the world, it connects the North
Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It’s an important trade link
between Europe and UK. More than 500 ships pass through this
channel daily. It also has the world’s busiest shipping lane. This
route facilitates the shortest time for transit, cutting transport
time from 210 minutes to 90 minutes. The harbor of Dover, on
the British side of the strait, and the harbor of Calais on the
French side are two of the world’s busiest harbors. This adds to
the high activity of vessel movements on this route.

The Danish Straits (Russia- Europe)

This strait links the North Sea and Baltic Sea and comprises 3
channels: The Øresund, the Great Belt, and the Little Belt.
These are important points of transit for trade in Russia and
Europe. The biggest share of shipments for this strait includes
petroleum and crude oil.

Southeast Asia's Malacca Strait

The conduit between the Pacific and the Indian Ocean resulting
from this is both the shortest and largest. It links the largest
economies in Asia—India, China, and Japan—as well as other
significant economies in the region, including those of Thailand,
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam,
Taiwan, and South Korea. This route is travelled by more than
83,000 vessels annually. The volume of traffic through this
strait is close to 40% of global traffic.
Impact of container availability on shipping routes charges

Pick-up costs are a key factor to consider when deciding where

to store your containers or where to ship your cargo from when
it comes to shipping routes. Depending on the state of the
shipping business, these fees change. The container availability
index (CAx) is one of the variables. Having containers in
Denmark sometimes makes sense, whereas having them in
China sometimes makes sense. However, it could be
challenging for you to anticipate the flow of containers.

Take the Panama Canal as an example to go from Shanghai to

New York. New York is now a surplus location. Consequently,
there are more containers than are required. In order to shift
their containers to a shortfall, container suppliers are
consequently willing to compensate goods forwarders.Thus,
making money on the transfer. Knowing the CAx values =
container availability at a port can help with lowering your
expenditure by choosing routes where you can save money on
repositioning containers from surplus to deficit locations.
Why are some shipping routes more commonly used than
others?

With the charges taken care of let’s give you a better

understanding of why some routes are frequented more than
others.

Numerous reasons affect the traffic flow of shipping routes

such as frequency of trade, one-way traffic, physical constraints
(coasts, reefs), nature (marine current, winds), and even
pirates.

Vessels often take the safest and most cost-effective route to

get the cargo delivered on time. This leads to an imbalance of
traffic on some routes. While other routes have traffic due to
the frequency of trade carried out (like routes from China and
UAE).

Sea routes like the Suez Canal, Panama Canal, Strait of Malacca,
Dover, etc. are core routes linking major continents and passing
through countries with high import or export demands. These
routes are important commercial shipping hubs and control the
shipping flow, as compared to countries with smaller markets.
Some places have high traffic surges because they are points of
passage for ships – acting as chokepoints. This also leads to a
huge cargo imbalance on many ocean routes.

As world trade grows, the maritime industry is growing – and

shipping routes are becoming busier. Containers and associated
maritime transport systems have been crucial to globalization
and the world economy. This is why, most of the shipping
industry is dominated by cargo and containers, in terms of
cargo value.