Demand for goods from Asia nosediving, report shows

Demand for goods from Asia is continuing to fall, new research shows.

The insight comes from e2open, whose supply chain SaaS platform has supplied the data for its latest quarterly Ocean Shipping Index.

The Index is a benchmark report providing insight around global ocean shipments. The report shows a drop in cross-ocean transit times over the past nine months, suggesting an ongoing reduction in global demand for goods out of Asia.

Findings are drawn from e2open’s business network, which encompasses 14 billion transactions and tracks 71 million containers annually. 

Headline findings include:

Exports from Asia to North America saw the most significant quarterly drop, down 11 days in the past three months.

Exports from Europe to North America fell by 18 days from Q1 2022. From North America to Europe, these journeys were down eight days since the previous quarter.

The cross-ocean journeys of exports from South America to North America and South America to Europe fell in the past year.

e2open EVP Products & Strategy Pawan Joshi said: “With continued uncertainty around available supply for components for manufacturing, raw materials, and agricultural goods, companies are evaluating their supply networks and looking to expand their options worldwide. 

“South American ports are utilising both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to move agricultural products, minerals, and oil and gas exports that play a role in global trade.

“The global ocean shipping environment continues to have a choppy outlook, but the silver lining in all this is the global trend of decreasing booking-to-receipt times for shipments.”