Institute of Transportation, MOTC

• Date：2023-09-19
• Update：2023-09-19
• Department：IOT

 Project Overview

       As a result of the rapid transformation of the global economy, the state of maritime freight transport fluctuates significantly. Taiwan, which is surrounded on all four sides by water, is located in the center of East Asia. Despite Taiwan’s maritime prosperity over the years, the recent changes have been detrimental. The stagnant position of the Port of Kaohsiung in the global cargo port ranking is cause for grave concern and calls for appropriate government action.
       The formulation and evaluation of high-quality policies require high-quality scientific analysis; on the other hand, high-quality data is an essential element of policy formulation. Cargo transport is the focus of Taiwan’s maritime transport. Furthermore, maritime cargo transport is a global phenomenon. The “International Maritime Database” collects data on the world’s principal maritime cargo transport routes and regional route data. In addition to data statistical analysis and mapping function setting and refinement, as well as quarterly data changes in the current year, issue-based analyses are conducted at the end of each year to gain an understanding of the global shipping market’s overview and trends. In addition, in response to current policy or business needs, such as the formulation of a new southbound policy and evaluation of its effectiveness, this system can provide specific and objective quantitative data from the perspective of the cargo transport supply side, which will serve as support.

Research Results

1. From the second quarter of 2011 to the fourth quarter of 2023, international periodic carbo route data have been gathered.
2. Before 2016, data on 600 routes were collected each quarter, with the Far East as the center; beginning in 2017, the collection of data of all periodic cargo routes around the world was expanded to 1,500-1,550 routes each quarter; and beginning in 2022, data collection was changed to a monthly basis, with approximately 1,800 routes collected each month.
3. The English names, English names, latitudes, countries, and trade zones of 1,015 ports were collected. There are 5,200 cargo ships on the routes, or 97% of the total number of cargo ships in the world.
4. The information security and defense capabilities are enhanced by enhancing search software (single user session) with data-statistical analysis and reports, as well as the generation of tables and charts.
5. The analyses of changes in the main route deployment and regional route deployment of national airlines before and after the COVID-19 pandemic have been completed.

Result Promotion and Benefits

• On August 30, 2022, Taiwan International Ports Corporation, Ltd. provided training for the “International Maritime Database” (single user session) search application.
• On November 16, 2022, the “International Maritime Database” seminar was held, inviting the industry, government, university, and academic institutions within the shipping industry to present the database’s contents, functions, and issue analysis results.

Summary of Research Results

Changes in the Second Quarter Number of Far East- US Western Routes from 2017 to 2022

Regional Route Map of Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation in the second quarter of 2022

Research Result Report

• Expanding, Updating and Data Analyzing of the International Air Transportation Database of 2022 (Published in April 2023)