Trade’s Building Recovery; Maersk Cutting Back; Manipulating Storefronts

(WSJ) Global trade is rebounding much more quickly than it did after the 2008 financial crisis, defying predictions of a lengthy downturn and a permanent drag on globalization. World-wide trade remains below pre-pandemic levels, but the WSJ’s Eun-Young Jeong and Tom Fairless report that volumes had recovered about half of this year’s historic loss by June, even before a late-summer surge that has been gathering steam at container ports. New export orders were growing in 14 of 38 economies measured by IHS Markit in August, and others are trending toward expansion. Big ports like China’s Ningbo-Zhoushan and Los Angeles are now seeing container volumes surpassing 2019 levels. The recovery isn’t being felt evenly but countries where trade has improved, including China, South Korea and Germany, in general are seeing their economies bounce back. That’s fueling greater confidence that this year’s trade crunch won’t presage a long-term collapse in demand.

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