<P> This mode of transportation links national, international and global economies, making it vital to many other industries . Newer trends of liberalization of trade have fostered routes among nations bound by agreements . One such example, the American Open Skies policy, led to greater openness in many international markets, but some international restrictions have survived even during the present times . </P> <P> Express delivery through international cargo airlines touched US $20 billion in 1998 and, according to the World Trade Organization, is expected to triple in 2015 . In 1998, 50 pure cargo - service companies operated internationally . </P> <P> Air transport particularly favors light, expensive and small products: electronic media rather than books, for example, and refined drugs rather than bulk food . </P> <P> The economic importance of pipeline transport--responsible for a high percentage of oil and natural gas transportation--is often undermined by the general public due to the lack of visibility of this mode . Generally held to be safer and more economical and reliable than the other modes of transport, this mode has many advantages over rival modes, such as trucks and railways . Examples of modern pipeline transport include Alashankou - Dushanzi Crude Oil Pipeline and Iran - Armenia Natural Gas Pipeline . International pipeline transport projects, like the Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan pipeline, presently connect modern nation states--in this case, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey--through pipeline networks . </P>

Which of these places is part of the hansa commercial trade route