WTO Reports: Global Intermediate Goods Exports Decline by 8%, China's Lithium Battery Exports Shine

[Local Time, July 20] The World Trade Organization (WTO) released new data indicating that global intermediate goods (IG) exports in Q2 of 2023 fell by 8% to $2.3 trillion. This downturn, continuing since last year, is attributed to stagnant commodity prices, high inflation, and high interest rates, leading to a substantial shrinkage in global consumer demand. All regions and most IG categories experienced this decline.

Despite the overall downtrend, China, Germany, and the USA remained the top three global IG traders. The WTO data revealed a 13% decrease in IG exports from Asia, followed by Africa (-12%), North America (-8%), South and Central America (-8%), and Europe (-2%).

South and Central American exports saw the largest quarter-over-quarter increase of 14%, mainly due to Brazil's seasonal soybean exports, predominantly to China, totaling $15.3 billion. North American exports experienced the largest drop of 3%, totaling $297 billion, and Europe's IG exports also fell by 2% in Q2.

 

However, transportation components and accessories saw a 13% increase. Notably, China's lithium-ion battery exports, driven by the global acceleration of electric vehicle production, surged by 40%, while other IG categories like industrial goods (-14%), food and beverages (-9%), parts excluding transportation equipment (-8%), and ores and gems (-1%) declined.

The China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance reported that in October, China's combined power and energy storage battery exports reached 14.5 GWh, a 9.1% month-over-month increase, accounting for 19.4% of the monthly sales. Power battery exports accounted for 78.9% of this figure, with a 3.8% month-over-month and a 34.0% year-over-year increase.

Intra-regional IG trade also fell in Q2, with Asia's internal trade, often referred to as the "Asian Factory," taking the biggest hit with a 16% decline. North America's internal trade saw the least impact, decreasing only by 2%. African (-37%), European (-4%), and South and Central American (-4%) regional IG trades also declined.

Most inter-regional trade shrunk in Q2 as well, but Europe's exports to Asia and the Americas grew by 5% and 1%-2%, respectively, supported by increased gold exports.

pdf: Information note on trade in intermediate goods: second quarter 2023