Regional context

North America’s participation in the global shipping industry is, by several metrics, disproportionately low given its share of the global economy (16.6% of global gross domestic product (GDP), as of 2022). This discrepancy is less surprising if viewed from the perspective of the importance of external trade for the region’s countries. Whereas Canada’s total external trade of goods (exports plus imports) as share of GDP (61%) is in line with the global average (57% of world GDP), the U.S. economy has tended to rely on foreign trade for less of its output (25% share of GDP, as of 2022).

The aforementioned metrics include: