Supply Chain Research

Global trade activity dipped 1.2% lower on a year over year basis, marking the fifth straight month of declines. Export activity in Europe led the way with the Eurozone seeing a 2.4% slide while central and east-Europe fell a 5.6% reversal. The outlook for Europe has improved slightly with the German IFO index for export expectations rising to a net 1.2% of companies seeing declining orders from 5.2% a month earlier, though France’s INSEE fell to a net 15.2% expecting lower exports. The evidence for September is already bleak – 14 out of 20 countries that have reported September data hav...