Late-2000s recession: Trade and industrial production

In middle-October 2008, the Baltic Dry Index, a measure of shipping volume, fell by 50% in one week, as the credit crunch made it difficult for exporters to obtain letters of credit.

In February 2009, The Economist claimed that the financial crisis had produced a "manufacturing crisis", with the strongest declines in industrial production occurring in export-based economies.

In March 2009, Britain's Daily Telegraph reported the following declines in industrial output, from January 2008 to January 2009: Japan -31%, Korea -26%, Russia -16%, Brazil -15%, Italy -14%, Germany -12%.

Some analysts even say the world is going through a period of deglobalization and protectionism after years of increasing economic integration.

Sovereign funds and private buyers from the Middle East and Asia, including China, are increasingly buying in on stakes of European and U.S. businesses, including industrial enterprises.[60] Due to the global recession they are available at a low price. The Chinese government has concentrated on natural-resource deals across the world,[63] securing supplies of oil and minerals.