International Supply Networks: A Portrait of Global Trade Patterns in Four Sectors

This paper explores the development of international supply networks in four manufacturing sectors: communication equipment, electrical machinery, motor vehicles, textiles and apparel. The study investigates changes in the trade of intermediate products using descriptive statistics, network metrics and visualization, and econometric methods. The findings of the paper suggest that the evolution of international supply networks towards far-shoring has stagnated since 2015. The paper also reveals some evidence of nearshoring and friend-shoring trends in most recent trade statistics. Developed countries and East Asian economies continue to dominate supply networks, while Latin American and African nations are largely absent.