{{B}}Transport and Trade{{/B}}
1 Transport is one of the aids to trade. By moving goods from places where they are plentiful to places where they are scarce, transport adds to their value. The more easily goods can be brought over the distance that separates producer and consumer, the better for trade. When there were no railways, no good roads, no canals, and only small sailing ships, trade was on a small scale.
2 The great advances made in transport during the last two hundred years were accompanied by a big increase in trade. Bigger and faster ships enabled a trade in meat to develop between Britain and New Zealand, for instance. Quicker transport makes possible mass-production and big business, drawing supplies from, and selling goods to, all parts of the globe. Big factories could not exist without transport to carry the large number of workers they need to and from their homes. Big city stores could not have developed unless customers could travel easily from the suburbs and goods delivered to their homes. Big cities could not survive unless food could be brought from a distance.
3 Transport also prevents waste. Much of the fish landed at the ports would be wasted if it could not be taken quickly to inland towns. Transport has given us a much greater variety of foods and goods since we no longer have to live on what is produced locally. Foods which at one time could be obtained only during a part of the year can now be obtained all through the year. Transport has raised the standard of living.
4 By moving fuel, raw materials, and even power, as, for example, through electric cables, transport has led to the establishment of industries and trade in areas where they would have been impossible before. Districts and countries can concentrate on making things which they can do better and more cheaply than others and can then exchange them with one another. The cheaper and quicker transport becomes, the longer the distance over which goods can profitably be carried. Countries with poor transport have a lower standard of living.
5 Commerce requires not only the moving of goods and people but also the carrying of messages and information. Means of communication, like telephones, cables and radio, send information about prices, supplies, and changing conditions in different parts of the world. In this way, advanced communication systems also help to develop trade.