  The implementation of large-scale containment measures by governments to
contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus has resulted in a large supply and
demand shock throughout the global economy. Here, we use empirical vessel
tracking data and a newly developed algorithm to estimate the global maritime
trade losses during the first eight months of the pandemic. Our results show
widespread trade losses on a port level with the largest absolute losses found
for ports in China, the Middle-East and Western Europe, associated with the
collapse of specific supply-chains (e.g. oil, vehicle manufacturing). In total,
we estimate that global maritime trade reduced by -7.0% to -9.6% during the
first eight months of 2020, which is equal to around 206-286 million tonnes in
volume losses and up to 225-412 billion USD in value losses. The fishery,
mining and quarrying, electrical equipment and machinery manufacturing, and
transport equipment manufacturing sectors are hit hardest, with losses up to
11.8%. Moreover, we find a large geographical disparity in losses, with some
small islands developing states and low-income economies suffering the largest
relative trade losses. We find a clear negative impact of COVID-19 related
business and public transport closures on country-wide exports. Overall, we
show how real-time indicators of economic activity can support governments and
international organisations in economic recovery efforts and allocate funds to
the hardest hit economies and sectors.
