The slump in commodity prices over the last few months, combined with an economy in China which is leaning towards recession have combined to decrease shipments of manufactured items and raw materials around the globe. World trade volumes increased by only 1.5 percent from September to November compared with the same window in 2015. It's clear that volume growth has been significantly weaker during the current economic expansion than during previous cycles, but it has slowed even more since early 2015.
