Global trade remains under congestion due to bottlenecks: Report

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Global trade remains under the spell of serious container congestion due to bottlenecks without any signs of easing, a Germany-based non-profit economic research institute said on Wednesday.

"Around 9% of global freight capacity is now tied up in four major queues, more than half of which are jammed at ports in the US," the Kiel Institute for the World Economy said in a statement.

"Germany has so far not recovered from reducing its imports in the summer. Global trade has now been stagnating for an unusually long time", it added.

China's trade remains at the same level as in the spring, but its exports are estimated to show a decline of 4.9% in October, while imports are expected to increase 2.7% from the previous month.

The US' trade has been slightly decreasing since the spring, as its exports are expected to fall 1.8% in October, while imports are anticipated to increase 0.4%.

For the EU, exports are forecast to decline 1.3%, and imports are estimated to fall 1.1%.

Global world trade is expected to decline slightly in October by 0.6%, according to the report.

"Global trade is lacking a positive impulse to move forward. It is currently stuck at the level before the outbreak of the Covid-19 crisis and has now been stagnating for an unusually long time," head of Kiel Trade Indicator Vincent Stamer said in the statement.

"Looking at the congestion of container ships dims hopes of a timely increase. For the first time, freighters are now congesting off the major seaports of China and the U.S. at the same time to a worrying extent," he added.