The Trade-and-Transport Dataset : Technical Documentation

UNCTAD and World Bank unveil the Trade-and-Transport (TnT) Dataset, merging bilateral trade records with transport work and costs across air, sea, rail, road, and other modes from 2016 to 2021. Upgraded COMTRADE data and GIS insights, along with model estimates, refine past methods for enhanced global coverage.

This paper describes the sources and methods behind the new Trade-and-Transport (TnT) Dataset, developed by UNCTAD and the World Bank, recording bilateral international merchandise trade, in value and quantity, alongside its associated transport work and costs, broken down by commodity group and mode of transport (air, sea, rail, road, and other modes), from 2016 to 2021. Its compilation has been made possible by the availability of new variables in a recent upgrade of the UN Comtrade database and of enhanced data on transport distances obtained from geographic information systems. Gaps in the primary data on transport costs and transport mode have been filled with model estimates to obtain global coverage. The TnT Dataset builds on the methods developed for the predecessor, the Global Transport Costs Dataset of International Trade, which have been further refined to achieve higher accuracy and allow a more informed adjustment for inter-modal transshipment.