The first meetings between President Trump and his trade ‘partners’ were the focus of our readers’ attention in February. The top article was our deep-dive analysis of the interplay between the NAFTA countries’ exports, while our preview of his meeting with Prime Minister Abe predicted the lack of fireworks. The logistics industry waved goodbye to Hanjin Shipping, while the companies’ future outlooks and ongoing consolidation drew interest.

#1 Trump, Trudeau and Peña Nieto’s Top 50 NAFTA Pain Points (Feb 2) As Mexico kicked off its NAFTA consultation, we took a look at the top 50 exports of each NAFTA member with the others.

Chart is based on top 50 exports by HS code, for the 12 months to November 30, for the U.S., Canada and Mexico based on U.S. and Mexico data. HS category shown if it is present in at least one country’s top 50 exports (typically >0.25% of all exports). Red represents highest proportion of total exports, green the lowest while blank cells indicate no position in the top 50. Click the chart to see a high resolution version. A simple directory of HS codes can be found here. Source: Panjiva

#2 Has Hanjin’s Demise Helped the Shipping Industry? (Feb 17) The final bankruptcy notice for Hanjin Shipping led us to address the impact on rates, and our concerns about new capacity being built.

#3 Mexico and Canada Lack Leverage for Trilateral Trump Talks (Feb 22) Mexico and Canada’s foreign ministers said they want a trilateral discussion on NAFTA. We found that outside of aerospace and agriculture they have little joint leverage to force it.

#4 Has Hyundai MM Already Lost the Battle for Walmart’s Custom? (Feb 15) Our analysis of Wal-Mart’s shipping shows that it was MSC, rather than Hyundai MM that replaced Hanjin Shipping.

#5 33 Ways U.S. Farmers Can Help Abe Beat Trump (Feb 6) Ahead of Prime Minister Abe’s trip to the U.S. an analysis of the top 200 export lines each way showed agriculture is where Japan may have the most leverage in trade negotiations.

#6 Trump’s Deficit Definition Definitely Of Limited Use, Shows Job Risks (Feb 20) The U.S. may redefine its headline deficit figure, but an investigation of other countries’ re-exports show they could too.

#7 Wooden Can Kicked Down the Road, for NAFTA? (Feb 2) A decision to delay a tariff investigation into Canadian exports by the U.S. may have been delayed to include it in broader NAFTA talks.

#8 Trump Waves Currency Saber as Japan Deal Opener (Feb 1) Two weeks before meeting with Prime Minister Abe, President Trump directly accused Japan of manipulating its currency.

#9 Awaiting the $45 billion Tweet from @realdonaldtrump (Feb 6) Our preview of the U.S. full December trade deficit highlighted the rapid expansion of the goods deficit to its highest since March 2015.

#10 Mnuchin’s Currency Manipulation Net May Be Cast Wider Than Before (Feb 23) After the Treasury Secretary’s comments on assessing current manipulation, our analysis showed 10 countries could be caught, up from seven previously.

#11 Freeland Takes Hawkish Stance, Canada Could Squeeze U.S. Tech (Feb 9) Canada’s main areas of leverage in trade talks with the U.S. will likely focus on telecoms equipment, PCs and pharma once talks start.

#12 Maersk’s Miss Doesn’t Demonstrate Disaster, Outlook Optimistic (Feb 8) Maersk’s disappointing results were mostly due to the oil business that it’s selling. It’s upbeat commentary has been seen across the sector.

#13 Being Small But Simply Formed Makes Messina Attractive to MSC (Feb 15) Consolidation in shipping doesn’t just mean mega-deals, with MSC following a bolt-on approach.

#14 MSC’s Remarkable Market Share Bounce Leads Industry Consolidation (Feb 9) Our monthly market share mapping of U.S.-bound carrier volumes found being big is no block to growth.

#15 EU Approval for Maersk’s HamSu Bid May Hinge on Brazil (Feb 21) Maersk’s purchase of Hamburg Sud could take a year to complete, and faces significant regulatory hurdles.

#16 Hapag Lloyd Beats The Street, Flags Need for Discipline (Feb 28) Hapag Lloyd did better than Maersk in beating analyst estimates, but raised concerns about new capacity investment in its outlook.

#17 Tweaks Not Tariffs From Trudeau-Trump Trade Meeting (Feb 14) The first meeting between the Canadian and U.S. leaders didn’t have the expected fireworks.

#18 Obama-Trump Bridge Trade Figures Likely to Expand (Feb 24) Our preview of the February trade figures highlighted the risk of an acceleration in imports and the deficit – we were right.

#19 Did Abe’s Investment Sword Counter Trump’s Currency Sabre? (Feb 13) Trump’s first meeting with Abe was as lacking in fireworks as his meeting with Abe.

#20 Trump Not the Only Enemy For China as Remedies Rise (Feb 17)  The Chinese government is starting to take a more hawkish stance on trade.