February 25, 2021

World Trade Monitor December 2020

With an increase of 0.6% in December 2020 (compared to November), world trade exceeds the level of early 2020. The loss due to the COVID pandemic in the first half of 2020, has been made up for with a growth of 1.3% over the whole of 2020. In the fourth quarter of 2020 the growth was 4.0%.

The CPB World Trade Monitor (WTM) is an instrument for bringing together, aggregating, and summarizing worldwide monthly data on international trade and industrial production.

In the WTM, ‘trade’ is trade in goods (also referred to as ‘merchandise trade’). ‘Production’ is industrial production, that is: value added in mining, manufacturing, and utilities (also referred to as ‘industry excluding construction’).

The production monitor covers 85 countries worldwide. These countries account for about 97% of global industrial production. The trade monitor covers 81 countries. Coverage of world trade is almost 99%.

Read the complete accompanying press release.

Developments in global international trade and industrial production December 2020:

World trade volume increased 0.6% month-on-month (growth was 1.6% in November, initial estimate 2.1%) and growth was 4.0% in 2020Q4 (11.5% in 2020Q3).
World trade momentum was 4.0% (non-annualised; 6.0% in November, initial estimate 6.8%).
World industrial production increased 1.3% month-on-month (having increased 1.2% in November, initial estimate 1.1%) and growth was 3.5% in 2020Q4 (8.0% in 2020Q3).
World industrial production momentum was 3.5% (non-annualised; 4.2% in November, unchanged from initial estimate).

The next release of the CPB World Trade Monitor is scheduled for 25 March 2021, 12:00 hours.

CPB publishes a World Trade Monitor every month on behalf of the European Commission. It takes two months for the figures to become available. For questions please contact wtm@cpb.nl.

Read also the CPB Background Document 'The CPB World Trade Monitor: technical description (update 2020)'. In September 2016 (starting with the July 2016 monitor) the WTM base year has been moved from 2005 to 2010. Clarification of the procedure and its outcomes is given in the downloadable appendix (CPB Memo 'Change of base year WTM').

If you want to receive an email alert every time CPB publishes its update of the world trade monitor, please subscribe to our alert service on this page (CPB Data).

The World Trade Monitor is partially financed by DG ECFIN (Directorate General of Economic and Monetary Affairs of the Economic Commission).