global trade routes
World shipping lanes
Global trade routes are the established paths—by sea, land, or air—through which goods move between countries and continents.
The term evokes both ancient networks like the Silk Road and modern shipping lanes: China's Belt and Road Initiative aims to reshape global trade routes.
Disruptions to these routes ripple through economies worldwide.
- shipping lanesDesignated ocean travel paths
- sea lanesDesignated ocean passages
- Columbian ExchangeNew-Old World biological transfer
- East India CompanyBritish colonial trading corporation
- Silk RoadHistoric transcontinental trade network
market · oil tankers · supply chains · container ships · tariffs · customs checkpoints · duty free · globalization · pipelines · harbor · cargo · caravels · merchant vessels · vessels · navigation · port of call · exchange · customs
- shippingshipping, cargo ships, container ships, freight, package
global trade routeslocal markets
Nearby retail establishments
domestic trade · local commerce · village markets · regional trade · subsistence economy
global trade routeseconomic isolation
Severing external trade ties
autarky · trade barriers · closed borders · trade embargo · trade embargoes