Global Trade Activity Remains a Mixed Bag

Global trade activity held steady in July and that's certainly good news. But does a "holding steady" trend like this signal a robust recovery? Panjiva doesn't think so.

The latest report from Panjiva shows that last month there was a 0.2 percent increase in the number of global manufacturers shipping to the US market, and a 0.5 percent increase in the number of US companies receiving waterborne shipments from global manufacturers. In addition, Panjiva found that:


The number of waterborne shipments coming into the US experienced another 2 percent month-over-month increase from June to July. Again, while that's good news, in general, Panjiva cautions that it's important to remember that this month-over-month increase compares unfavorably to the 12 percent June-to-July increase in 2009 and the 8 percent June-to-July increase in 2008.



The percentage of significant manufacturers on the Panjiva Watch List declined slightly from 16 percent to 15 percent.


The percentage of significant buyers having done business with a Panjiva Watch List supplier in the preceding three months held steady at 23 percent.


To add even more color, Panjiva also points out that for the past three months, there have been over one million shipments to the US and Panjiva analysts haven't seen a streak like that since October of 2008. Taken altogether, this data indicates that a significant amount of instability remains and that supplier risk management should continue to be a top priority in every company's overall business strategy.