Measuring international transport and insurance costs is crucial for understanding the dynamics of merchandise trade. These costs, along with related insurance charges, have a direct and significant impact on trade patterns and a country’s competitiveness. Despite numerous factors influencing the volume and geography of international merchandise trade, quantitative information on transport and insurance costs remains limited, with only around thirty economies providing this data with the required level of product and partner breakdown. These costs, typically referred to as CIF/FOB margins, are essential determinants of the volume and geography of international trade.
The OECD-ITIC dataset combines the largest and most detailed cross-country sample of official national statistics on observed CIF-FOB margins with model estimates, offering information on international transport and insurance costs at annual level for over 200 reporters, 240 partners, and more than 1,200 products (HS 2017 at 4 digits).
The OECD-ITIC dataset serves as a vital tool for advancing the understanding of global value chains and forms a crucial input for developing coherent and balanced bilateral trade statistics. The OECD-ITIC Dashboard allows users to explore the data and extract valuable insights from the dataset.
