Global Trade Volumes Fall the Most in More Than a Decade

Global trade took its biggest hit in more than a decade in March, when the spread of the coronavirus began to take an increasingly heavy toll on businesses.

World trade volumes fell 4.3% from a year earlier, the most since 2009, according to the World Trade Monitor. On the month, they fell 1.4% for a third straight decline. The slump is only an initial sign of the damage from the lockdowns to contain the disease, and surveys have since shown a deep recession is underway.