DHL Global Trade Barometer shows continued robust growth in Asian economies

Today, DHL released its forecasts for trade growth in Asia, which indicate continued robust economic expansion, especially in India, which improved four points on DHL’s trade barometer from the last quarter in June to a score of 83.

DHL premiered its predictive growth tool, the “DHL Global Trade Barometer,” in January, which utilizes artificial intelligence (A.I.) and big data to predict trends in global trade via a point-based index. Any value above 50 points indicates positive economic growth in a region.

“India’s gross domestic product accelerated to 8.2 percent in the April-June quarter this year, a significant jump from the 5.5 percent rise a year earlier that beat most forecasters’ expectations,” said George Lawson, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding, India. The Indian economy is the fastest-growing in the world. DHL cited that its manufacturing and construction sectors as major contributors to its output.

South Korea’s overall index value of 69 makes it a leader in global trade, as well. Specific to air freight, the country’s score remains at 73 points, driven by demand for exports of technology, basic materials, machinery parts and industrial raw materials, DHL said. Sources familiar with the Southeast Asian market have told Air Cargo World that Korean Air operates 13 freighters per week between Hanoi (HAN) and Incheon (ICN) – most of them carrying almost exclusively for Samsung.

“South Korea’s major industries continue to underpin global innovation in technology: exports of memory chips, for example, jumped 31.5 percent from the year before to help fuel an 8.7 percent increase in the country’s exports in August,” said SP Song, managing director of DHL Global Forwarding Korea.

These reports come in the wake of high international trade tensions, especially between China and the United States. DHL said that disputes may show in the former of slower growth rates in coming months.