Brighton, September 8 (HNA) – It has been reported that global trade continues to grow, despite significant headwinds such as customs duties and conflicts in the Middle East, thanks in part to major investments in artificial intelligence, which also include trade in information technology, equipment and software.
In its latest “Weekly Global Economic Update” report dated 31 August, the global accounting, auditing and consultancy firm Deloitte highlighted that global trade volume in June had risen by 8.8 per cent compared with the previous year. The report, titled “Global Trade is Rebounding with the Support of Artificial Intelligence Despite Adverse Factors”, drew attention to the latest data published by the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB), which releases monthly trade and industrial production volume figures for major economies.
According to this, the latest report, which includes data for June 2026, shows that global trade volume (adjusted for inflation) rose by 8.8 per cent in June compared with the previous year. Furthermore, trade volume rose by 3.3 per cent from May to June; this marks the second-fastest monthly growth since 2023. Meanwhile, global industrial production rose by 2.1 per cent year-on-year in June.
Deloitte highlighted that what is particularly interesting in the CPB’s data is the growth figures for exports, imports and production by region or country; it emphasised that, with the exception of Japan, trade in Asia grew rapidly in June, with both exports and imports rising at a remarkable pace in developed East Asian economies such as South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. It was emphasised that this situation is likely linked to these countries’ participation in global artificial intelligence-related supply chains.
Undoubtedly, it was stated that China is also experiencing very strong growth in trade volume as it continues to focus on increasing exports related to information technology and clean energy, and that this is the sole significant source of economic growth for the giant economy. Furthermore, developing Asian economies – such as India and those in South-East Asia, alongside China – have seen strong trade growth as certain low-value-added processes have shifted from China to lower-wage countries; some of these countries have also joined AI-related supply chains.
On the other hand, according to an analysis of Deloitte’s CRP data, trade remained largely stagnant in the Eurozone, Africa and the Middle East. For the Eurozone, which is heavily reliant on natural gas imports from the Middle East, the energy shock had a negative impact on both production and consumption, leading to a stagnation in trade.
US trade, however, performed reasonably well despite significant headwinds, reflecting the impact of investments in artificial intelligence and strong imports from East Asian countries, which are heavily involved in the AI supply chain.