Supply Chain Research

French exports fell for a second month in February, with a 0.3% contraction lagging the 3% growth experienced by Germany. The drop led to a much wider-than-expected trade deficit, though that may reflect volatility in exports by Airbus. Geographically there was weakness across the board, with a 2% drop in shipments to China being notable despite that country’s 34% rise in global imports. The outlook is not good either, with a growing proportion of managers seeing order books below normal. That pessimism may be driven by the risks of a Le Pen presidency after the forthcoming elections.