Exports plunged 45.7 percent in January from a year earlier, resulting in a record trade deficit as the recession in the United States and Europe smothered demand for cars and electronics.

The shortfall widened to ¥952.6 billion, the biggest since 1980, the earliest year for which there is comparable data, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday. The drop in shipments abroad eclipsed a record 35 percent decline set the previous month.

Exports to the U.S. tumbled an unprecedented 52.9 percent from a year earlier, and shipments to Asia and Europe also posted their largest-ever declines as the global recession deepened.