Coronavirus knocked trillions of dollars off global GDP last year and resulted in economic momentum shifting away from western countries towards Asia. Technological developments kept the world moving, but an effective rollout of vaccines is needed for growth to return

The coronavirus pandemic has produced the deepest recession since the Second World War, disrupting economic activity, travel and supply chains. The implications of the crisis going forward will be high and it will strike unequally across the world

Eyes have recently been focused on the result of the US presidential election and what that will mean for the global economy, but it is China that is leading the way in terms of recovery and the country continues to be the main driver for trade this year

Coronavirus-related travel restrictions and a decline in household spending are the main factors behind a decrease in global seaborne trade this year. But the drop has not been as bad as originally anticipated in many cases and there are positive signs for a recovery in 2021

Given the exceptional circumstances of the pandemic, it is unsurprising that GDP growth forecasts for 2020 vary widely. It is generally accepted though that there was a greater negative impact on economic activity in the opening half of the year than was initially predicted, while the world’s recovery will be more gradual

Current economic developments will have a major impact on seaborne trade, with volumes in 2020 forecast to fall by 3% compared with 2019, representing the first year-on-year decline since 2009