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The question of the stats is a minor quibble. The article is not swamped in stats, and is otherwise fine, so I wouldn't want to hold up a listing for one sentence - I think it's something that can be addressed in ongoing development. As part of that ongoing development I would wonder, if these stats are not telling us much about the trade, and we don't know if they signify that traffic on the river at that time was above or below average, what value they are bringing to the reader. I'm seeing that the main points are that trade was increasing, that there was a desire for larger boats to carry the trade, and that the river was silting up, making passage by larger boats difficult. Perhaps a wording such as:

Does that work for you? ''' ✔Tea time''' "