Supply Chain Research

South Korea’s international trade activity dropped 23.0% year over year in April. That included a 24.3% slide in exports. The government insists the “manufacturing industry is operating normally” during the COVID-19 pandemic suggesting the issue is foreign demand not domestic manufacturing. Geographically the slump was due to shipments to emerging markets, though exports to China and the EU also fell by 17.9% and 12.8% respectively. The drop in exports is widespread and not helped by falling oil prices which led to a 25.4% slump in refined oil shipments. The autos industry looks set to r...