We leverage detailed data on vessel movements and shipping contracts to shed new light on world trade costs and trade … flows. The data reveal new facts about shipping patterns, and motivate us to build a framework modeling the behavior of … in shipping efficiency; (ii) a slow-down in China; (iii) the opening of the Northwest Passage; (iv) search frictions …

trade relies on container shipping. This paper introduces a new monthly index of the volume of container trade to and from …%. The difference is mainly accounted for by unexpected reductions in frictions in the container shipping market. …