World trade in goods plunged by 12% in April from March, after having already dropped 2.4% in March from February. This plunge of the Merchandise World Trade Monitor, released by CPB, was by far the largest month-to-month drop in the history of the data going back to 2000. Compared to April last year, the index was down 16.2%.
And this can easily be seen in the US data
Exports of goods collapsing 25% in April from March and 30% year-over-year, according to the Commerce Department earlier in June. Imports plunged 13.6% in April from March, and 20.2% year-over-year.
And the collapse can be seen in the European data
Eurozone exports in April, according to the World Trade Monitor, collapsed by 30.5% year-over-year, and imports by 26.7%, both to the lowest levels in the data going back to 2000
But interestingly China appears to have dodged a rather large bullet
The exports of all major regions and countries plunged in March and April. Except in China, where, based on the official data released by the Chinese government and used by the CPB, neither imports nor exports ever really got hit this year at all.
With imports and exports, however, cheating invariably comes to light: China’s exports show up as imports by other countries- and these have collapsed, and China’s imports are other countries’ exports- which have also collapsed. And this puts forward a second thought: Given that China’s import and export data were fake during the pandemic, and should have been a lot lower, the overall World Trade Monitor, which includes China’s fake data – and with China being a massive factor in global trade – should have been a lot lower in reality as well… so how much trade does China really do?
Here’s the validation from other sources
Go to the Census Bureau and check US imports from China (which are exports by China), which are down 24% for the first four months of 2020:
https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html
Cancelled sailings in April:
https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/containers/idle-containership-fleet-set-hit-3m-teu-alphaliner
China-Australia services suspended due to pandemic:
https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/containers/one-msc-and-maersk-suspend-china-australia-service
Go to Maersk, largest container carrier in the world, and check cancelled sailings. For example, Asia – US West Coast, which pulls up the Chinese ports affected by cancelled sailings of Maersk ships:
https://www.maersk.com/stay-ahead/ocean-service-adjustments
“No market segment will be spared, with capacity cuts announced across almost all key routes. Apart from the Asia – Europe, Asia – North America and Transatlantic routes, carriers have also implemented capacity reductions in South America, the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent, Africa, and Oceania,”
https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/containers/idle-containership-fleet-set-hit-3m-teu-alphaliner
Cancelled sailings on the transpacific routes and Asia to Europe:
https://www.drewry.co.uk/logistics-executive-briefing/logistics-executive-briefing-articles/sailing-schedules-victim-of-covid-19