Tradeshift's Index of Global Trade Health Report Q2 2020

July 14, 2020

Introducing The Tradeshift Index of Global Trade Health—a new quarterly report that uses the data flowing across the Tradeshift network to provide a unique insight into the state of global trade.

Ever since reports of the virus first emerged in January, we've followed the impact of the pandemic on business-to-business trade and the health of global supply chains. It’s been an extraordinary few months. We see this in our data, which shows a 14.8% fall in trade activity globally in Q2 compared to Q1. 

Yet while the data shows the green shoots of a post-lockdown recovery starting to emerge, the overall picture remains volatile. And, given the globally interconnected nature of trade and supply chains, it’s unlikely we’ll see a sustained global recovery until every region is in a position to do so.

Some key findings from the report are that:

• Global trade activity dropped 14.8% in Q2 compared to Q1. 
• Transaction volumes in Western economies fell furthest in April. In the eurozone, activity dropped to -44.5% below the pre-lockdown levels during the week commencing 13th April.
• China bounced back strongly in Q2, with transactions in the region up 31.8% against the previous quarter. 
• Green shoots of recovery are emerging, particularly in the eurozone where transaction volumes in June were 38% higher than in April. In the US, activity is up 34% over the same period.

Read the full report to discover the real impact of COVID-19 on global trade. Then hear what our Co-Founder and SVP for Asia Pacific, Mikkel Hippe Brun, believes organizations must do to prevent another crisis having such a dramatic impact on their supply chains.