TDM’s Top 10 Trade Trends to Watch in 2026

container yard closeup, port of ningbo zhoushan, China

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

Casualties of the U.S.-China Trade War: 36 Million Phones

Group of workers at small parts manufacturing factory in China, wearing protective clothing, hats and masks

Please Dial a New Number  As U.S. and Chinese negotiators try to find a way out of tariff gridlock, one thing is certain: The smartphone supply chain has shifted significantly, upending the practices and expectations of manufacturers, logistics firms, and retailers.   China’s exports of mobile phone fell 11.6% year-on-year in August to 60.8 million sets.… Continue reading Casualties of the U.S.-China Trade War: 36 Million Phones

China Hikes Iron Ore, Copper Imports Amid Car Building Boom

In the somewhat gloomy December and annual China trade statistics released in the second week of January was buried a piece of data that hearkened back to the boom years of Chinese commodity consumption: China is buying a lot more iron ore and copper. In December, China boosted iron ore imports 11.1% year-on-year to 100.9… Continue reading China Hikes Iron Ore, Copper Imports Amid Car Building Boom