10 · Logistics · Updated 13 July 2026
Material Trade Arteries
The chapter separates raw, intermediate and finished products and avoids treating trade value as physical supply.
Open the interactive map- Coverage
- 34 mapped strategic records; chapter evidence has wider dataset coverage
- Evidence period
- Latest source releases available through July 2026; underlying observation years vary
Trade value and physical supply answer different questions
High-value machinery can dominate a trade chart while representing little physical tonnage. Iron ore and clinker can dominate tonnage while having lower unit value. The atlas lets the user switch between value, net mass and supplementary quantity where the reporting is sufficiently complete. United Nations Statistics Division
The default industrial-flow view uses physical quantity for bulk materials and value for complex manufactured goods, with the measure shown in the legend. Measures are never combined into one ranking. United Nations Statistics Division
Product stage must remain visible
Bauxite, alumina and primary aluminium belong to one chain but represent different industrial capabilities. The same is true for ore, concentrate, refined metal and fabricated product. The chapter groups HS codes by stage and publishes the code list used for every chart. United Nations Statistics Division
This prevents a country that exports raw material from being described as a leading producer of the refined product, or a re-export hub from being mistaken for the original source. United Nations Statistics Division
Gross flows can hide asymmetric dependence
A large bilateral trade value does not show whether one side can replace the other. The analysis compares supplier concentration, importer dependence, domestic production and the presence of alternative exporters. United Nations Statistics Division U.S. Geological Survey
The chapter reports top-one, top-three and top-five supplier shares and shows how those shares change after excluding re-export hubs where origin data permit. United Nations Statistics Division
Route arcs are derived, not vessel tracks
UN Comtrade records country-to-country trade, not the exact route taken by every shipment. The map’s arcs represent reported bilateral relationships. Where a maritime corridor is inferred, it is labelled as an analytical route and kept separate from observed shipping data. United Nations Statistics Division UN Trade and Development
This distinction prevents the visual from claiming a level of transport precision that the source cannot support. United Nations Statistics Division
Data completeness has to be checked before each update
Countries report at different times and revise earlier records. The production build uses 2024 as the latest broadly complete annual base and adds 2025 only for commodity-country combinations that pass a coverage check. United Nations Statistics Division
Every extraction stores the query parameters, HS revision, reporter, partner, flow, unit and date. Aggregated files are published; bulk raw records are not redistributed. United Nations Statistics Division
Classification work is part of the analysis
Industrial chains do not align neatly with one customs code. The data pipeline publishes the HS revision, included codes, exclusions and treatment of mixed products for every material group. Changes in classification are versioned so that a time series is not silently broken by a code revision. United Nations Statistics Division
For complex products, value may be the only consistently reported measure. For ores, concentrates, clinker and primary metals, physical quantity is preferred when unit reporting passes validation. The chart states which measure is being used and why. United Nations Statistics Division
Concentration is tested from both sides of the relationship
Exporter concentration shows how much supply comes from the leading origins. Import dependence shows how much a consuming market relies on those origins after domestic production is considered. The atlas calculates both because a concentrated export market can have different consequences for two importers. United Nations Statistics Division U.S. Geological Survey
Re-exports and processing hubs are marked where origin information or chain evidence supports the distinction. Without that correction, a trading centre can appear to be the primary producer of material it imported and transformed or forwarded. United Nations Statistics Division
Trade flows connect back to physical assets
Country arcs are linked to major mines, refineries, plants and ports only when a defensible relationship exists. The interface distinguishes a verified facility route, a country-level allocation and an inferred corridor. This prevents the map from turning bilateral statistics into invented shipment tracks. United Nations Statistics Division UN Trade and Development
The resulting chain view lets a user move from a reported trade flow to the production systems and logistics that could explain it, while retaining the evidence level of each connection. United Nations Statistics Division
Evidence table
Current comparison
| Layer | Preferred measure | Main caution |
|---|---|---|
| Bulk ores and minerals | Net mass or reported physical quantity | Moisture, grade and product form differ. |
| Refined metals | Net mass and value | Re-exports and warehouse trade can distort origin. |
| Chemicals | Net mass, supplementary units and value | Product purity and concentration vary. |
| Machinery | Trade value and item-specific quantity where useful | Value does not measure material volume. |
| Bilateral route | Reporter-partner flow | The exact transport route is not observed. |
Source register
Documents and datasets
Country-to-country merchandise trade records used to define selected material-flow corridors.
Latest complete annual records vary by reporter · UN data terms; the atlas uses derived, selected routes rather than redistributing raw records.Seaborne trade, shipping, route disruption and port context.
Mainly 2024–2025 · United Nations publication terms.