New DHL Trade Growth Atlas: Hong Kong grabs top spots in trade value and volume growth

• Hong Kong ranks sixth in total trade value in 2021, with a total of US$1.4 trillion
• The city grabs the fifth and sixth spots globally in terms of trade value growth and volume growth, amounting to US$376 billion and US$227.3 billion respectively, from 2016 to 2021

HONG KONG, Oct. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The DHL Trade Growth Atlas published by DHL and NYU Stern School of Business has ranked Hong Kong in the top spots globally, indicating its strength in trade value and volume growth across 173 markets around the world. Dubbed "Asia's World City", Hong Kong ranks sixth in total trade value as recorded in 2021, raking in US$1.4 trillion within the year.

Furthermore, Hong Kong has grabbed the fifth spot globally in trade value growth – totaling US$376 billion – and sixth in the world in trade volume growth – amounting to US$227.3 billion – from 2016 to 2021.

The report also indicates two dimensions of future trade growth: speed, which captures how fast a market's trade volume is expanding; and scale, which tracks the absolute change in the amount of goods traded by a market. Hong Kong is among the top 10 markets in terms of the scale of trade volume, together with other key Asian markets, such as Singapore and South Korea.

"True to its reputation as an international financial, commerce and trade hub, Hong Kong has performed well in total trade value and volume growth," said Chee Choong Ng, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, DHL Express Hong Kong and Macau. "By leveraging Hong Kong's global connectedness and its status as a regional logistics hub and with the Three Runway System at the airport and the expanded DHL Express Central Asia Hub coming on line, we are well positioned to support our customers' global and regional trade growth."

According to the report, Hong Kong's top export destination from 2016 to 2021 is mainland China (56 percent), followed by the United States (7.5 percent) and India (3 percent). Meanwhile, more than half of the city's import within the same period is from mainland China (45 percent ).

Key Take-Aways: Growth, Shifts, and Opportunities

The DHL Trade Growth Atlas also measures changes in countries' and regions' shares of world trade. Among the key take-aways:

• The Covid-19 pandemic has not been the major setback for global trade that many anticipated: International trade in goods has surged as high as 10% above pre-pandemic levels, even in the face of significant supply bottlenecks that constrained further growth.
• Prospects for future trade growth remain surprisingly positive: Due to the war in Ukraine, trade growth forecasts have been downgraded, but they still call for trade to grow slightly faster in 2022 and 2023 than it did over the preceding decade.
• E-commerce sales boomed during the pandemic and forecasts point to strong cross-border e-commerce growth continuing.
• New poles of trade growth are identified in Southeast and South Asia, and trade growth is expected to accelerate dramatically in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Trade growth is spread across a wider variety of markets: China accounted for a quarter of trade growth in recent years and is predicted to continue to have the largest growth, but its share is likely to fall by half, to 13 percent.
• Vietnam, India, and the Philippines stand out on both speed and scale of projected trade growth through 2026. All three have potential to benefit from efforts by many companies to diversify China-centric production and sourcing strategies.
• While emerging economies increased their shares of world trade from 24 to 40 percent between 2000 and 2012, with half of the increase driven by China alone, these shares have barely changed over the past decade.
• However, emerging economies continue to race forward on measures of connectivity, innovation, and leading companies. They are becoming more important exporters of sophisticated manufactured products, and increasingly compete not only on low costs, but also on innovation and quality.

Understanding Global Trade and its Opportunities

The DHL Trade Growth Atlas examines global trade growth trends, geographic shifts, the mix of products traded, and broader changes in the business environment. It analyzes trade in goods worldwide, by region, for advanced vs. emerging economies, and across 173 markets. The report features concise one-page summaries for each of these markets. The markets covered comprise more than 99% of world trade, GDP, and population.

The DHL Trade Growth Atlas complements the established DHL Global Connectedness Index series. While the DHL Trade Growth Atlas provides a special deep dive on global trade in goods, the DHL Global Connectedness Index, published regularly since 2011, analyzes the broader phenomenon of globalization – based on trade in goods and services, as well as worldwide flows of capital, people, and information. Both reports help pinpoint promising business opportunities, and support fact-based debates about trade and globalization.

DHL – The logistics company for the world

DHL is the leading global brand in the logistics industry. Our DHL divisions offer an unrivalled portfolio of logistics services ranging from national and international parcel delivery, e-commerce shipping and fulfillment solutions, international express, road, air and ocean transport to industrial supply chain management. With about 380,000 employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide, DHL connects people and businesses securely and reliably, enabling global sustainable trade flows. With specialized solutions for growth markets and industries including technology, life sciences and healthcare, engineering, manufacturing & energy, auto-mobility and retail, DHL is decisively positioned as "The logistics company for the world".

DHL is part of Deutsche Post DHL Group. The Group generated revenues of more than 81 billion euros in 2021. With sustainable business practices and a commitment to society and the environment, the Group makes a positive contribution to the world. Deutsche Post DHL Group aims to achieve net-zero emissions logistics by 2050.

New York University Stern School of Business, located in the heart of Greenwich Village and deeply connected with the City for which it is named, is one of the United States' premier management education schools and research centers. NYU Stern offers a broad portfolio of transformational programs at the graduate, undergraduate, and executive levels, all of them enriched by the dynamism and deep resources of one of the world's business capitals. NYU Stern is a welcoming community that inspires its members to embrace and lead change in a rapidly transforming world. Visit www.stern.nyu.edu.