Global Trade Surpassed Record-Breaking $35 Trillion in 2025

Global trade exceeded $35 trillion in 2025 for the first time, according to UNCTAD’s final global trade update of the year.

This represents an increase of about $2.2 trillion, or around 7%, compared with 2024. The milestone highlights the role of maritime transport, which continues to carry around 80–90% of global goods by volume, making shipping and port infrastructure indispensable to sustaining this growth.

Trade growth remained positive in the third quarter of 2025, supported by developing economies, strong South-South trade, and robust performance in Africa and East Asia. Between July and September, global trade grew 2.5% compared with the previous three months, with goods rising nearly 2% and services 4%. 

Growth continued in the year’s final quarter, though at a slower pace: 0.5% for goods and 2% for services, adding about $1.5 trillion to the year’s total and services $750 billion, consistent with the overall 7% annual increase.

East Asia recorded the strongest export growth over the past year at 9%, supported by a 10% surge in intra-regional trade. Africa also performed strongly, with imports up 10% and exports 6%. South-South trade expanded around 8%, showing the deepening economic ties among developing economies.

Among individual economies, China and the Republic of Korea stood out in East Asia, while Brazil and South Africa were key drivers in South America and Africa. India and China also posted some of the strongest growth in services exports.

Container shipping routes across East Asia and Africa have been critical in facilitating the surge in exports and imports. Iron and steel saw the sharpest increase in trade, rising about 40% since the third quarter of 2024, while agriculture expanded sharply, with cereals and fruit-and-vegetable exports each rising 11%.

Manufacturing grew 10% over the year, led by electronics (14%) linked to AI-related demand. Automotive trade fell 4%, while fossil-fuel trade declined amid lower prices. 

The subdued fossil-fuel trade has also had implications for tanker shipping, with reduced demand for long-haul crude transport. By contrast, containerised and bulk shipping have benefitted from the rise in manufactured goods and agricultural exports.

However, in 2026, UNCTAD expects weaker growth as slower global activity, rising debt, higher trade costs, and persistent uncertainty weigh on performance. 

For the maritime sector, this outlook raises questions about capacity management, freight rates and the resilience of global supply chains. Shipping companies and port authorities will need to adapt to fluctuating demand while continuing to modernise fleets and infrastructure to meet environmental targets and digitalisation goals.

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