One Month’s Not a Trend, But January’s Trade Data Could Point To A Slowdown in Global Trade

Trade, the life blood of the global economy, has begun rebounding nicely since the trough of the global economic crisis.  But, January’s US trade data unexpectedly displayed a decline in both exports–the first decline in nine months–and imports, leading to a smaller US trade deficit, but also implying a potential slowdown in global trade.  As I said, one month does not indicate the start of a trend, but this is something that should be monitored moving forward.  The chart below illustrates the relationship between the U.S. trade deficit and the Baltic Exchange’s Baltic Dry Index (BDI).  As you can see the sharp decline in the US trade deficit during the economic crisis–indicative of a slowdown in global trade–coincided with a collapse in shipping rates as measured by the BDI.

US Trade Deficit (White Line) vs. the BDI (orange Line):