Another Big Month for Chinese Exports China on Tuesday reported another phenomenal month of exports. Its total shipments rose 25% year-on-year in August to $401.4 billion. Meanwhile, total imports increased 28.2% to $282.4 billion. The gap means China is on track to report a second straight year of a trade surplus of well over a trillion… Continue reading China’s Hidden Trade Deficit: Microchips
Industry: High Tech
Global Trade is Moving On — Without the U.S.
One way of looking at China’s trade economy in December and for the full 2025 year is its export surge, amplified by a weak currency, deflation at home, and inflation in most of the rest of the world. China pumped up total monthly exports 6.6% to $357.8 billion in December from $335.6 billion over the… Continue reading Global Trade is Moving On — Without the U.S.
TDM’s Top 10 Trade Trends to Watch in 2026
Happy New Year. While we wait on the Supreme Court to rule whether the Trump administration is entitled to apply tariffs on national security grounds, global trade grinds on. We at Trade Data Monitor are paying attention to what’s happening via the prism of official trade statistics. It’s a radically different world than when I started covering… Continue reading TDM’s Top 10 Trade Trends to Watch in 2026
The Lessons of China’s First-Ever Trillion-Dollar Trade Surplus
The Trillion-Dollar Surplus After falling year-on-year in October, China’s exports rebounded in November enough that it is almost certain that for 2025, the country that was mired in poverty when you and I were born will become the first nation ever to record a trillion-dollar trade surplus. The number is just a number, but it’s… Continue reading The Lessons of China’s First-Ever Trillion-Dollar Trade Surplus
Global Coal Trade is Finally Faltering
China Cuts Coal Imports For years, as governments around the world embraced clean energy technology, coal trade held steady because China was still buying. As the rest of the world turned away from coal, China boosted imports to power its booming electrification, and a vibrant new industry of electric vehicles and batteries. In 2024, it… Continue reading Global Coal Trade is Finally Faltering
China’s EV Export Boom is Driving up Demand for RoRo Ships
China’s electric car export boom has fueled demand in the country for automobile transport ships, driving up prices for foreign buyers. Overall, in March, Chinese ship exports fell 5.9% year-on-year by quantity in March to 399, after steadily rising for most of this decade. By value, they increased 34% to $3.1 billion. So called Roll-on/roll-off,… Continue reading China’s EV Export Boom is Driving up Demand for RoRo Ships
Trade Data Monitor’s Top 10 Trade Trends Going Into 2024
It’s not an easy time for global trade–the roughly $25 trillion piece of the $105 trillion world economy. Protectionism is roaring in the U.S. and Europe, causing geopolitical tension with China. Inflation across most of the world has shrunk consumers’ wallets and imports, while deflation in China is also scaring businesses. Asian supply chains are… Continue reading Trade Data Monitor’s Top 10 Trade Trends Going Into 2024