globaltraffic.earth

How much of the United States’ trade passes through the Strait of Malacca and Singapore?

In 2024, an estimated $111.4 billion of the United States’ trade passed through the Strait of Malacca and Singapore, 5.2% of its seaborne trade. That is $32.5 billion of exports and $78.8 billion of imports. The partners with the most trade through it are Vietnam, India and Thailand.

Summary

Estimated value
$111.4billion
Of its seaborne trade
5.2%
Exports
$32.5billion
Imports
$78.8billion

Trend

Estimated value per year

The United States’ estimated trade through the Strait of Malacca and Singapore rose 52% between 2019 and 2024

Value in USD billions

  • United States 111

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearEstimated valueOf its seaborne trade
1995$24.5 billion3.9%
1996$25.6 billion3.9%
1997$25.7 billion3.7%
1998$25.3 billion3.7%
1999$27.2 billion3.7%
2000$23.1 billion3.1%
2001$22.7 billion3.2%
2002$23.7 billion3.1%
2003$26.3 billion3.1%
2004$30.6 billion3%
2005$34.3 billion2.9%
2006$38.7 billion3%
2007$44.2 billion3.2%
2008$52 billion3.3%
2009$41 billion3.6%
2010$48.4 billion3.4%
2011$61 billion3.6%
2012$61.7 billion3.6%
2013$60 billion3.6%
2014$62.1 billion3.7%
2015$57.5 billion3.7%
2016$54.6 billion3.7%
2017$60.2 billion3.7%
2018$67.3 billion3.9%
2019$73.3 billion4.3%
2020$72.4 billion4.7%
2021$96 billion4.9%
2022$118.6 billion5%
2023$103.9 billion4.8%
2024$111.4 billion5.2%

Partners whose trade crosses it

Estimated value of its trade with each partner that crosses the chokepoint; the percentage is the share of all its trade through the chokepoint, not of the pair’s trade.

  1. United States–Vietnam$29.3 billion · 26.3%
  2. United States–India$18.8 billion · 16.9%
  3. United States–Thailand$17.3 billion · 15.6%
  4. United States–Malaysia$12.3 billion · 11%
  5. United States–Singapore$11.2 billion · 10.1%
  6. United States–Cambodia$4.8 billion · 4.3%
  7. United States–Bangladesh$3.8 billion · 3.4%
  8. United States–United Arab Emirates$3.5 billion · 3.1%
  9. United States–Indonesia$2.5 billion · 2.2%
  10. United States–Iraq$2 billion · 1.8%

What crosses it

The products with the highest estimated value in 2024, with their share of the total through the chokepoint.

  1. Crude petroleum$8.5 billion · 7.7%
  2. Diodes, transistors and solar cells$5.9 billion · 5.3%
  3. Furniture$4 billion · 3.6%
  4. Refined petroleum$3.9 billion · 3.5%
  5. New tires$2.6 billion · 2.3%
  6. Seats and chairs$2.2 billion · 2%
  7. Natural gas and LPG$1.9 billion · 1.7%
  8. Auto parts$1.9 billion · 1.7%
  9. Sweaters and pullovers$1.8 billion · 1.6%
  10. Men's suits and trousers$1.5 billion · 1.3%

If it closes

  • United States–Vietnam: +675 nautical miles, ≈ 2 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Gibraltar, the Suez Canal and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait

Estimated sailing detour, without costs, waiting or port capacity.

Reference ports

Los Angeles (48%) and New York (52%)

Each port with the weight it receives from the country’s trade, based on where its GDP is generated and which coast is closest.

Other chokepoints it uses

Sources and method

Sources and licenses

Methodology

We estimate the value crossing each chokepoint from BACI trade that travels by sea according to our mode heuristic, split between each country’s ports by where its GDP is generated and which coast is closest, and routed over our own sea network. It is an estimate, not a count of ships. It covers 99.9% of seaborne trade. The approach follows Verschuur, Lumma and Hall (Nature Communications, 2025). Data up to 2024.

All maritime chokepoints