{"id":21058,"date":"2026-10-28T11:27:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T08:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kitalogistics.com\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T11:45:58","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T08:45:58","slug":"the-hidden-cost-of-global-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kitalogistics.com\/en\/the-hidden-cost-of-global-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hidden Cost of Global Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Hidden Cost of Global Trade<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t
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In September, the cost of a one-way voyage for a Suezmax tanker carrying oil from\nthe Black Sea to India was approximately $19 million. By early October, the\ntransportation cost on the same route had risen to $27\u201330 million. These figures,\nreported by Reuters on October 13, indicate an increase ranging from 42% to 58% in\njust a few weeks.<\/p>

A change of this magnitude in the cost of a single tanker voyage actually illustrates a\nmuch broader problem facing global trade today.<\/p>

Production continues around the world, countries continue trading with one another,\nand energy and raw materials are transported to the markets where they are needed.\nThe solutions developed by the logistics industry in response to crises also play an\nimportant role in maintaining this continuity. However, the economic cost of making all\nthis possible is becoming increasingly burdensome.<\/p>

I believe that when assessing global trade, it is no longer sufficient to look only at\nhow much cargo is transported, how much exports have increased, or whether trade\nvolumes have been maintained. We must also question how many additional\nresources we are using to sustain the same level of trade.<\/p>

Because the problem we face today is not merely rising logistics costs; it is the\nincreasing pressure on the efficiency balance of global trade.<\/p>

The Economic Cost of Risk in the Black Sea<\/h2>

The effects of the Russia-Ukraine war on maritime transportation in the Black Sea\nare nothing new. However, increasing security risks, disruptions to port operations,\nand uncertainties surrounding sanctions have recently made the cost structure of\ntrade even more complex.<\/p>

S&P Global's assessment dated October 9 reveals that additional premiums\nassociated with security and sanctions risks in Black Sea tanker transportation have\nincreased. What is particularly noteworthy here is that an attack or loss does not\nnecessarily have to occur for these risks to have economic consequences. Even\nthreats that have not yet materialized can affect insurance conditions, freight rates,\nand vessel availability.<\/p>

As Trade Routes Change, Costs Do Not Disappear<\/h2>

We see a similar picture in developments concerning the Strait of Hormuz and the\nRed Sea.<\/p>

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most critical transit points for global energy trade.\nThe Red Sea and the Suez Canal are among the main routes for container\ntransportation between Asia and Europe. Although the effects of security problems in\nthese regions differ, they share a common economic consequence: while trade\n\ncontinues thanks to alternative solutions developed by the logistics industry, new\ncosts may also arise.<\/p>

For example, redirecting part of oil exports to alternative departure points in response\nto reduced transit through the Strait of Hormuz is important for maintaining the\ncontinuity of energy supply. However, the ability to ship oil from an alternative port\ndoes not mean that it can be transported at the same cost.<\/p>

New routes may require different infrastructure, additional land and maritime\ntransportation, changing insurance conditions, and more complex operations.<\/p>

Moreover, redirecting cargo from one corridor to another can also affect the capacity\nof ports, terminals, and connecting routes along the alternative corridor. As a result, a\nproblem that initially emerges in a particular region can generate costs and delays\nacross a much wider geographical area.<\/p>

I believe there is an important distinction we need to emphasize here.<\/p>

The ability of global trade to adapt to crises is not the same as its ability to maintain\nthe same level of efficiency.<\/strong><\/p>

In other words, the logistics industry's creativity in developing alternative routes\nensures the continuity of trade. However, this capability must now also be\ncomplemented by the ability to manage the additional costs and uncertainties that\narise.<\/p>

The Least Discussed Cost of Trade: Time<\/h2>

We generally assess increases in transportation costs through freight rates. Yet a\nsignificant portion of the costs companies face today is not directly visible on\ntransportation invoices.<\/p>

The most tangible example of this is uncertainty in delivery times.<\/p>

According to Xeneta's September 2026 data, the global on-time arrival rate in\nmaritime transportation fell to 27%. On the Far East\u2013Europe route, this rate was\nmeasured at just 4%. On the same route, the average vessel delay reached 9.9 days.<\/p>

We should not interpret these figures merely as vessels arriving late at ports.<\/p>

A container being delivered ten days later than planned may mean a change in the\nproduction schedule for a manufacturer, the need to hold additional inventory for an\nimporter, or a risk to the delivery commitment made to a customer by an exporter.<\/p>

More importantly, these delays have financial implications.<\/p>

A business waiting for its products to be delivered may be unable to use the capital\ntied up in inventory or the shipping process for other purposes during that period. As\ndelays become longer, working capital requirements may increase, and depending\non the company's financing conditions, the associated costs may also grow.<\/p>

In my view, this is precisely what companies should place greater emphasis on when\nevaluating logistics performance in the coming period: the economic value created by\ncompleting transportation on time and in a predictable manner, as much as the price\nof transportation itself.<\/p>

Why Is This More Critical for T\u00fcrkiye?<\/h2>

For economies such as T\u00fcrkiye, which have strong production and export capacities\nwhile also relying on imports for energy and various intermediate goods, the impact\nof these developments is even more significant.<\/p>

On the one hand, there are increasing risks in global transportation; on the other,\nthere are high financing costs.<\/p>

The fact that Turkish lira-denominated commercial loan interest rates were around\n49% in T\u00fcrkiye at the beginning of October demonstrates why time lost in logistics\ncan have significant financial consequences for businesses.<\/p>

For manufacturers that use imported inputs in particular, a delay in the arrival of raw\nmaterials does not simply mean that materials arrive late. Production planning,\ninventory management, order fulfillment, and cash flow can all be affected by such\ndelays.<\/p>

For exporters, the issue is not merely being able to sell products at competitive\nprices. The ability to deliver products to customers under the agreed conditions and\nwithin a predictable timeframe is also an important component of competitiveness.<\/p>

For this reason, I believe that when assessing T\u00fcrkiye's position in global trade, we\nmust focus not only on the capacity of our logistics infrastructure but also on our\nindustry's ability to adapt to changing conditions, the reliability of the services we\nprovide, and our operational efficiency.<\/p>

Today's Competitive Advantage: Predictability<\/h2>

It is not difficult to foresee that global trade will continue to be affected by geopolitical\ndevelopments, security challenges, and changing economic conditions in the period\nahead.<\/p>

However, I do not believe that focusing solely on increasing risks is sufficient in the\nface of this situation.<\/p>

The real issue is how we manage these risks.<\/p>

For logistics companies, in addition to the ability to develop alternative sourcing and\ntransportation options, measuring delivery reliability and evaluating inventory and\nfinancing planning together with logistics decisions are becoming increasingly\nimportant.<\/p>

Logistics planning is no longer simply a decision about which transportation method\nto use after a product has been sold. In some markets, it is a strategic factor that\ndetermines the conditions under which a sale can be made, the price that can be\noffered, and the type of delivery commitment that can be made to the customer.<\/p>

I believe this transformation will also influence how companies approach competition\nin the coming years.<\/p>

The multimillion-dollar cost difference that emerged within just a few weeks for a\nsingle tanker voyage from the Black Sea to India is, in fact, a small reflection of a\nmuch larger economic issue.<\/p>

What will be decisive for the future of global trade is not merely the ability to develop\nnew routes and solutions in response to crises, but the ability to combine this\ncreativity with effective cost management, the preservation of delivery reliability, and\nmaking trade more predictable.<\/strong><\/p>

I believe that this is precisely where the real competitive advantage of the coming\nperiod will take shape.<\/p>

With Love and Respect,
Emre Eldener
Vice Chairman of the Board K\u0131ta Logistics<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

K\u00fcresel Ticaretin G\u00f6r\u00fcnmeyen Faturas\u0131 Eyl\u00fcl ay\u0131nda Karadeniz’den Hindistan’a petrol ta\u015f\u0131yan bir Suezmax tankerin tek y\u00f6nl\u00fc sefer maliyeti yakla\u015f\u0131k 19 milyon dolard\u0131. Ekim […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":21063,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kita","category-slider"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kitalogistics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kitalogistics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kitalogistics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kitalogistics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kitalogistics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21058"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.kitalogistics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21067,"href":"https:\/\/www.kitalogistics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21058\/revisions\/21067"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kitalogistics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kitalogistics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kitalogistics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kitalogistics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}