blog: add post on trade routes, chokepoints, and freight costs (#1692)

Covers the new Supply Chain panel features: chokepoint monitoring (8
corridors), freight indices (SCFI, CCFI, BDI), trade policy (WTO data),
and critical minerals. Opens with the current Hormuz crisis (94.4%
traffic drop) as a real-world hook.

blog-site/src/content/blog/tracking-global-trade-routes-chokepoints-freight-costs.md

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+---
+title: "Tracking Global Trade Routes, Chokepoints, and Freight Costs in Real Time"
+description: "Monitor the world's critical shipping corridors, freight indices, trade policy, and mineral supply risks. Live chokepoint disruption data, AI shipping advisories, and Baltic Dry Index tracking on one free dashboard."
+metaTitle: "Real-Time Trade Route & Chokepoint Monitoring | Freight Index Dashboard | World Monitor"
+keywords: "chokepoint monitoring, Strait of Hormuz shipping, freight index dashboard, BDI Baltic Dry Index, SCFI container rates, supply chain disruption tracker, trade route intelligence"
+audience: "Supply chain professionals, commodity traders, logistics analysts, maritime intelligence, geopolitical risk analysts"
+heroImage: "/images/blog/hormuz-chokepoint-crisis.png"
+pubDate: "2026-03-15"
+---
+
+The Strait of Hormuz carries 20% of the world's oil. Right now, traffic through it has dropped 94.4% week-over-week. Tanker transits have collapsed from 60+ daily to single digits. The disruption score is 99%.
+
+This is not a hypothetical scenario for a risk assessment deck. This is happening right now, and World Monitor is tracking it live.
+
+## The Hormuz Crisis in Real Time
+
+The Iran-Israel conflict has turned the Persian Gulf into an active confrontation zone. Iranian naval blockade risks, mines reported in shipping lanes, and 1,300+ security incidents in the past seven days have effectively shut down the world's most critical energy chokepoint.
+
+World Monitor's Supply Chain panel shows this in one view:
+
+- **85/100 disruption score** with red status
+- **94.4% week-over-week traffic decline**
+- **99% disruption rate** across the corridor
+- **Transit history chart** showing the cliff-edge collapse in late February
+- **AI-generated shipping advisory**: reroute via Suez Canal (adds 8-10 days, $150,000-$220,000 per transit), avoid Dubai anchorage, suspend Iran/Iraq crude exports until confrontations cease
+
+![Strait of Hormuz chokepoint data showing 94.4% traffic collapse](/images/blog/hormuz-chokepoint-crisis.png)
+
+The chart tells the story: tanker and cargo traffic that had been steady at 40-70 vessels daily suddenly dropped to near zero. This is not a gradual decline. It is a sudden shutdown of one of the world's most important trade arteries.
+
+## Eight Corridors Under Watch
+
+The Hormuz crisis is the most severe, but it is not the only corridor under pressure. World Monitor tracks eight critical maritime chokepoints:
+
+| Corridor | Status | Key Risk |
+|----------|--------|----------|
+| **Strait of Hormuz** | Critical | Iran-Israel war, naval blockade, mines |
+| **Kerch Strait** | Red | Russia controls Kerch Bridge, Azov grain exports restricted |
+| **Bab el-Mandeb** | Yellow | Houthi attacks on commercial shipping |
+| **Suez Canal** | Yellow | Red Sea conflict spillover, Iran-Israel war adjacency |
+| **Bosporus Strait** | Elevated | Black Sea grain corridor tensions |
+| **Taiwan Strait** | Yellow | PLA military exercises, semiconductor supply risk |
+| **Cape of Good Hope** | Green | Rerouting destination for Hormuz/Suez diversions |
+| **Dover Strait** | Green | Europe's busiest shipping lane, currently stable |
+
+Each corridor shows live vessel counts, week-over-week traffic changes, disruption percentages, and risk levels. When you click a corridor, you get the full AI-generated situation assessment with specific shipping recommendations.
+
+## What Makes This Different From Port Trackers
+
+Traditional maritime tracking tools show you where ships are. World Monitor shows you why they are not where they should be.
+
+The corridor disruption table cross-references AIS vessel data with conflict events, navigational warnings, and military activity. When vessel counts drop in the Strait of Hormuz, the system does not just show a number going down. It tells you there are 1,323 security incidents in the past week, Iranian naval confrontations in the shipping lanes, and mines reported in the Persian Gulf.
+
+The AI advisory goes further: it recommends specific alternative routes, estimates the cost increase per transit, identifies which cargo types should use air freight instead, and warns against specific anchorage points.
+
+## Real-Time Freight Cost Tracking
+
+When chokepoints close, freight costs spike. World Monitor now tracks the indices that quantify this:
+
+**Container Rates:**
+
+- **SCFI** (Shanghai Containerized Freight Index): composite container shipping costs from Shanghai, the world's busiest port. Currently at 1,710, up 14.9% as rerouting demand increases
+- **CCFI** (China Containerized Freight Index): broader Chinese container export costs. At 1,072, up 1.7%
+
+**Bulk Shipping:**
+
+- **BDI** (Baltic Dry Index): the benchmark for dry bulk shipping costs (iron ore, coal, grain). At 1,972, up 2.4%
+- **BCI** (Baltic Capesize Index): largest vessels, long-haul routes. At 2,721, up 5.7%, reflecting longer Cape of Good Hope diversions
+- **BPI** (Baltic Panamax Index): mid-size vessels, grain and coal. At 1,835
+- **BSI** (Baltic Supramax Index): regional trade vessels. At 1,290
+- **BHSI** (Baltic Handysize Index): smaller vessels, coastal trade. At 807
+
+**Economic Indicators:**
+
+- **Deep Sea Freight Producer Price Index** (BLS): long-term freight cost trends with 24-month history
+- **Freight Transportation Services Index** (BTS): overall freight sector activity
+
+When you see the Hormuz disruption score at 99% and the Capesize Index up 5.7% in the same dashboard, the connection is immediate: ships that would have taken the short route through Hormuz are now going around Africa, and the cost of booking those larger vessels is climbing.
+
+## Trade Policy Intelligence
+
+Supply chain disruptions do not happen in isolation. They intersect with trade policy: tariffs, restrictions, and barriers that shape where goods can flow even when shipping lanes are open.
+
+World Monitor's Trade Policy panel tracks:
+
+- **Trade Restrictions**: WTO-reported measures by country, showing which economies are tightening import/export controls
+- **Tariff Trends**: applied tariff rates between major trading partners over time
+- **Trade Flows**: bilateral trade volumes between economies (e.g., US-China, US-EU), tracking shifts in trade patterns
+- **Trade Barriers**: SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary) and TBT (Technical Barriers to Trade) measures that create non-tariff obstacles
+- **US Customs Revenue**: Treasury collection data that reflects real trade volumes hitting US ports
+
+When the Strait of Hormuz closes, the trade policy data shows the second-order effects: which countries depend on Gulf oil imports, which alternative suppliers face their own trade restrictions, and whether tariff structures make rerouting economically viable.
+
+## Critical Minerals: Concentration Risk
+
+Some supply chains cannot be rerouted because the supply itself is concentrated in a handful of countries. The Critical Minerals tab tracks this concentration risk:
+
+| Mineral | Top Producer | Share | HHI Score | Risk |
+|---------|-------------|-------|-----------|------|
+| **Gallium** | China | 96% | 9,280 | Critical |
+| **Cobalt** | DRC | 80% | 6,633 | Critical |
+| **Germanium** | China | 77% | 6,085 | Critical |
+| **Rare Earths** | China | 71% | 5,327 | Critical |
+| **Lithium** | Australia | 50% | 3,529 | High |
+
+The HHI (Herfindahl-Hirschman Index) measures market concentration. Anything above 2,500 indicates high concentration. Gallium at 9,280 means the global supply is almost entirely dependent on a single country.
+
+When China announced gallium and germanium export controls in 2023, the semiconductor industry had no short-term alternative. World Monitor makes this concentration visible, so supply chain teams can assess exposure before restrictions are announced.
+
+## How It All Connects
+
+Consider the current Hormuz crisis through all four dimensions:
+
+1. **Chokepoints**: Hormuz at 99% disruption, vessels rerouting to Suez and Cape of Good Hope
+2. **Freight Costs**: Capesize Index up 5.7% (longer routes need bigger ships), SCFI up 14.9% (container demand shifting)
+3. **Trade Policy**: Gulf oil exports affected by the conflict, alternative suppliers face their own trade barriers
+4. **Critical Minerals**: Qatar LNG exports transit Hormuz. Disruption affects downstream petrochemical inputs for battery manufacturing
+
+No single data source shows this full picture. World Monitor puts chokepoint status, freight indices, trade policy, and mineral supply risk in one panel, updated in real time.
+
+## The Data Sources
+
+Transparency matters. Here is where the data comes from:
+
+- **Vessel transit data**: AIS (Automatic Identification System) feeds, cross-referenced with historical baselines
+- **Conflict events**: ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project), 7-day rolling windows
+- **Shipping advisories**: AI-generated from combined conflict, navigational, and AIS disruption signals
+- **Container indices**: Shanghai Shipping Exchange (SSE) public JSON API
+- **Bulk indices**: Baltic Exchange via HandyBulk daily reports
+- **Economic indices**: FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)
+- **Trade policy**: WTO I-TIP (Integrated Trade Intelligence Portal)
+- **Critical minerals**: USGS mineral commodity data with HHI calculations
+
+All sources are public. No proprietary data feeds. No paywall.
+
+---
+
+**Monitor trade routes, chokepoints, and freight costs at [worldmonitor.app](https://worldmonitor.app). Free real-time intelligence for anyone who needs to understand how goods move around the world.**