We determine how time delays affect international trade, using newly-collected World Bank data on the days it takes to move standard cargo from the factory gate to the ship in   126   countries.
We   estimate   a   modified   gravity   equation,   controlling   for endogeneity  and  remoteness. On  average, each  additional  day  that  a  product  is  delayed  prior  to  being  shipped  reduces  trade  by  at  least  1  percent.    Put  differently,  each  day  is equivalent  to  a  country  distancing  itself  from  its  trade  partners  by  85  km  on  average. Delays  have  an  evengreater impact ondeveloping country exports and exports of time-sensitive  goods,  such  as  perishable agricultural  products.  In  particular , a  day’s  delayreduces  a  country’s  relative  exports  of  time-sensitive to  time-insensitive agricultural goods by 7 percent.