Global E-Commerce Usage Is Growing Significantly

INTTRA, a global provider of e-commerce solutions for the ocean freight industry, has seen a 33.8% increase in growth in ocean e-commerce usage in the past 12 months, nearly three times the rate of global container market growth of 12.4 %, according to maritime analyst firm Drewry.

With more than 350,000 container transactions initiated on the INTTRA platform each week, representing 12% of global ocean container trade, INTTRA provides a view of trends in usage of electronic business processes throughout the global ocean container supply chain.

According to data from INTTRA, ocean shipping e-commerce usage has grown significantly for imported cargo flows to countries in Asia with sustained increases in e-commerce usage year over year (YoY), particularly for imports to Malaysia (93%), South Korea (100%) and Singapore (33%), compared with 16.3% regional container market growth Q1 2010* (YoY). This growth may reflect the significance of growing domestic demand in the region. Stimulus programs, combined with a structural pick-up in demand from investment and consumption, are helping to lift e-commerce usage for imported cargo.

"Although e-commerce adoption is not an index of business recovery, it is clear that companies across the global ocean supply chain have responded to the recession by streamlining and standardizing business processes, enabling them to be better equipped for the future," says Ken Bloom, CEO of INTTRA. "The adoption of electronic commerce and automating the ocean supply chain is an essential component for the development of trade and the logistics sector."