Transport costs for the delivery of international merchandise trade on the rise since 2018
International transport costs as percentage of the value¹ of imports and exports
International transport costs per dollar value of merchandise trade increased over three years, reaching 8.1 per cent in 2021, after a decline from 10.4 per cent to 6.2 per cent between 2016 and 2018. These novel estimates are derived from the Cost Insurance and Freight (CIF) and Free On Board (FOB) values of imported goods recorded in customs declarations, During the six years, developing economies paid up to one third more transport costs per dollar for their imports and exports than developed economies, except in 2019 when their ad-valorem costs were about equally high for exports but 50 per cent more for imports.