Apr 30, 2025 (Bloomberg) –China is yet to announce regular statistics on trade flows for last week, delaying a closely watched data set as firms cut back on exports to the US.
The weekly Ministry of Transport report on the volume of trade is usually released each Monday but remained absent from itswebsiteas of 11 a.m. local time on Wednesday. The data published last week showed that China’s ports processed a total of 6.3 million standard 20-foot containers, 10% more than in the same period last year, according to Bloomberg calculations.
The ministry didn’t respond to a faxed question asking why the data wasn’t released and when it planned to announce it. China has a five-day-long national holiday starting on Thursday, with markets, businesses and many government offices closed until next week.
The delay marks the first time this year that the data hasn’t been announced on Monday, according to the releases on the ministry’s website.
In the more than two years that it’s made such figures available on a weekly basis, it has skipped one release and delayed 16 others, with the longest held back by four days in mid-2023.
The number of ships taking goods from China to the US hasslumpedin recent weeks after the US imposed punitive tariffs of more than 100% on most Chinese exports on April 2.
Even so, at least through the week before last, the total volume of trade hadheld up, possibly as companies ship more to Southeast Asia and other places where the US has suspended most tariffs.
China is scheduled to release April trade data on May 9, which will give the first official look at what has happened with trade with the US and other countries since President Donald Trump announced the levies.
