COVID-19 will likely affect trade more profoundly than any other recent crisis. The extent of the disruption will vary by commodity, trade lane, and mode of transport, and it will be steered by local differences in the crisis’s severity

Maritime transport defied the COVID-19 disruption. In 2020, volumes fell less dramatically than expected and by the end of the year had rebounded, laying the foundations for a transformation in global supply chains and new maritime trade patterns.