Trade in services registered an increase of 25% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2021, reported the World Trade Organization (WTO).

In particular, computer services continued their impressive rise in January-September 2021, with cumulative exports increasing 34% compared to the same period in 2019.

There was also rapid growth in both developed and developing economies: IT services exports increased by 29% in the United States, 42% in Mauritius, 51% in Ireland, 63% in Ukraine, and 68% in Bangladesh.

On the other hand, Internet traffic peaked during the pandemic due to remote work, learning, entertainment, and e-commerce.

International Internet bandwidth expanded by an estimated 30% worldwide in 2021, according to the International Telecommunications Union.

However, the value of telecommunications services fell 4% in the first nine months of 2021 compared to 2019, reflecting continued declines in global prices, especially for bundled communications services.

Trade in services

On the contrary, construction remains one of the sectors most affected by the pandemic. In 2020, world exports contracted 18 percent.

In the period January-September 2021, global construction exports were still down 12% compared to the same period in 2019.

In the European Union and China, the largest constructors, exports fell respectively by 19 and 4% compared to 2019.

Global transportation services, in particular, increased 45% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2021 and 12% compared to the same period in 2019.

The recovery was fueled by rising consumer demand for goods due to lockdowns, shifting services that require physical proximity, and fiscal stimulus measures in advanced economies.

Increased demand, coupled with pandemic-related restrictions, resulted in port bottlenecks, container misallocation around the world, and delays, causing shipping rates to spike sharply.

In the third quarter of 2021, Asia‘s transportation exports increased by 71% year-on-year and 46% compared to the third quarter of 2019.