The survey, conducted ahead of the World Economic Forum’s annual gathering in Davos and involving about 3,500 executives across eight industries and 19 countries, shows that 54 % of participants expect trade growth to be faster than last year, while 40 % expect it to be roughly the same. These positive expectations come even though more than half of respondents anticipate high levels of policy uncertainty and 90 % expect trade barriers to rise or remain unchanged in 2026.
Leaders in the survey reported that only about 25 % foresee trade policies having a negative effect on their operations, with nearly half expecting no impact and about a quarter anticipating positive effects, suggesting resilient sentiment among firms despite geopolitical and regulatory headwinds.
Geographically, executives identified Europe and China as the regions with the greatest potential for trade growth in the year ahead, followed by the Asia Pacific region and North America. The findings underline a diversified global trade focus rather than reliance on a single geographic market.
To counteract ongoing risks and volatility, many companies are already reconfiguring supply chains. Common strategic shifts for 2026 include diversifying suppliers, increasing inventories and adopting friend-shoring strategies, while a growing share of logistics planners is evaluating new trade routes in search of cost efficiencies, improved inland infrastructure linkages and reduced customs delays.
Customs clearance and border friction remain significant challenges, with around 60 % of respondents citing clearance delays as a major bottleneck. In response, executives are prioritising investment in warehousing and logistics hubs, road networks and border processing infrastructure to support smoother trade flows, highlighting how logistics investment sits at the heart of broader resilience strategies.
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