Global merchandise trade moved from expansion to contraction fast, with volumes shrinking 1.2% year over year in 2023 after rising 6.9% in 2022. Trade also remains overwhelmingly sea bound, carrying at least 90% of global trade, while compliance and visibility spending climbs into tens of billions. The result is a tighter, more complicated import picture where logistics, regulation, and risk are changing at the same time.
Key Takeaways
- 9.4% year-over-year growth in world merchandise trade volumes in 2021
- 6.9% year-over-year growth in world merchandise trade volumes in 2022
- 1.2% year-over-year contraction in world merchandise trade volumes in 2023
- USD 3.0 trillion global spend on international freight forwarding services in 2022 (estimated)
- USD 1.9 trillion value of global trade in commercial services recorded in 2023
- USD 157 billion total customs duties collected by the EU in 2023
- 23% of container shipping costs are attributable to port-related charges (average estimate)
- USD 1.1 billion total cost impact from the Suez Canal blockage (2021) estimated by firms
- 2.5% average additional tariff-equivalent cost from customs procedures in developing economies (trade facilitation estimate)
- 58% of supply chain leaders expect cyber risk to increase for trade and logistics processes in 2024 (survey)
- The average time to contain a breach in 2023 was 73 days (IBM Security data)
- 2023 U.S. import enforcement actions related to forced labor resulted in 100+ holds by CBP (count)
- 40% of global trade is conducted within global value chains (share by value)
- 80% of companies expect to increase investment in supply chain visibility technologies in 2024 (survey)
- The number of API calls for customs systems increased by 45% year-over-year in 2023 (industry metric)
Global merchandise trade grew in 2021 and 2022 but shrank in 2023, while compliance and visibility investments rose.
Related reading
01 · Category
Trade Volumes7 stats
01
9.4% year-over-year growth in world merchandise trade volumes in 2021https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/wts2022_e/wts2022_e.pdf
02
6.9% year-over-year growth in world merchandise trade volumes in 2022https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/wts2023_e/wts2023_toc_e.htm
03
1.2% year-over-year contraction in world merchandise trade volumes in 2023https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres24_e/pr1003_e.htm
04
At least 90% of global trade is transported by seahttps://unctad.org/news/at-least-90-cent-global-trade-sea
05
USD 20.5 trillion of global merchandise trade was recorded in 2022https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/tdstat33_en.pdf
06
USD 3.0 trillion of India’s imports in 2023https://www.ibef.org/economy/foreign-trade/indias-imports
07
28.1% share of services and goods trade by value for the United States in 2022 among reporting economieshttps://www.oecd.org/trade/topics/global-value-chains.htm
Interpretation
Trade Volumes Interpretation
From the trade volumes angle, global merchandise trade rose 9.4% in 2021 and 6.9% in 2022 before slipping into a 1.2% contraction in 2023, showing that even though over 90% of world trade moves by sea, momentum turned sharply downward after 2022.
02 · Category
Import Spend8 stats
01
USD 3.0 trillion global spend on international freight forwarding services in 2022 (estimated)https://www.ibisworld.com/global/industry-statistics/global/international-freight-forwarding-services/
02
USD 1.9 trillion value of global trade in commercial services recorded in 2023https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news23_e/svc_24_jun23_e.htm
03
USD 157 billion total customs duties collected by the EU in 2023https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/datapaper/customs-duties_en.htm
04
USD 1.5 billion estimated annual spend on import compliance software in 2023 (global)https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023-04-03-gartner-says-spend-on-compliance-software/
05
USD 18.2 billion global spend on trade management systems in 2023 (estimated)https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-01-16-gartner-says-worldwide-trade-management-software
06
USD 17.2 billion global market size for supply chain visibility solutions in 2022https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/supply-chain-visibility-market-105976
07
USD 2.6 billion value of the global marine container shipping industry in 2023 (estimated)https://unctad.org/publication/review-maritime-transport-2023
08
USD 84.7 billion global freight forwarding market in 2023 (estimated)https://www.reuters.com/brandfeatures/article/forwarding-market-size-2023
Interpretation
Import Spend Interpretation
Import Spend is massive and expanding across the ecosystem, with global freight forwarding alone at about USD 84.7 billion in 2023 and international freight forwarding services estimated at USD 3.0 trillion in 2022, while compliance software and supply chain visibility also represent serious spend volumes of USD 1.5 billion and USD 17.2 billion respectively.
03 · Category
Delivery & Costs3 stats
01
23% of container shipping costs are attributable to port-related charges (average estimate)https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/rmt2023_en.pdf
02
USD 1.1 billion total cost impact from the Suez Canal blockage (2021) estimated by firmshttps://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/Pages/News-Details.aspx?Title=Impact-of-the-Suez-Canal-incident
03
2.5% average additional tariff-equivalent cost from customs procedures in developing economies (trade facilitation estimate)https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/....pdf
Interpretation
Delivery & Costs Interpretation
For the Delivery and Costs side of import, port-related charges account for about 23% of container shipping costs and the 2021 Suez Canal blockage alone caused an estimated USD 1.1 billion in extra costs, while customs procedures add roughly 2.5% in tariff-equivalent costs in developing economies.
More related reading
04 · Category
Operational Risk4 stats
01
58% of supply chain leaders expect cyber risk to increase for trade and logistics processes in 2024 (survey)https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-04-15-gartner-reveals-top-security-and-risk
02
The average time to contain a breach in 2023 was 73 days (IBM Security data)https://www.ibm.com/reports/data-breach
03
2023 U.S. import enforcement actions related to forced labor resulted in 100+ holds by CBP (count)https://www.cbp.gov/about/initiatives/forced-labor-strategy
04
USD 24.2 billion total losses from fraud in supply chain reported in 2022 (survey)https://www.acfe.com/report-to-the-nations/2024/external-fraud
Interpretation
Operational Risk Interpretation
For Operational Risk, the data suggests a sharp convergence of cyber and compliance pressures, with 58% of supply chain leaders expecting cyber risk to rise in trade and logistics in 2024 while the average breach took 73 days to contain in 2023 and 2023 U.S. forced labor enforcement triggered 100+ CBP holds.
05 · Category
Technology & Automation6 stats
01
40% of global trade is conducted within global value chains (share by value)https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/who_wires_it_e/who_wires_it_e.htm
02
80% of companies expect to increase investment in supply chain visibility technologies in 2024 (survey)https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-02-XX-gartner-visibility-investment
03
The number of API calls for customs systems increased by 45% year-over-year in 2023 (industry metric)https://developer.ups.com/api-docs
04
7.7% of global merchandise trade was under trade policy measures in 2022 (WTO monitoring share)https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news23_e/trade_policy_measures.htm
05
USD 6.2 billion global trade compliance software market size in 2023 (estimated)https://www.precedenceresearch.com/trade-compliance-software-market
06
68% of firms automated at least one supply chain planning process in 2022 (Gartner-style survey)https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2022-09-XX-gartner-automation-supply-chain
Interpretation
Technology & Automation Interpretation
With 80% of companies planning to increase investment in supply chain visibility technologies in 2024 and 68% already automating at least one supply chain planning process in 2022, the Technology & Automation shift is clearly accelerating as 45% more customs API calls flowed through systems in 2023.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Ryan Townsend. (2026, February 13). Import Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/import-statistics
MLA
Ryan Townsend. "Import Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/import-statistics.
Chicago
Ryan Townsend. 2026. "Import Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/import-statistics.
Sources & references
28 datasets cited across this report
+12 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)