reconnaissance "DB World": Trade leaders are optimistic about 2026 despite the challenges
Davos, January 20 / WAM / The main results of the annual forecast report for the year 2026 issued by the Global Trade Observatory, affiliated with the DP World group “DB World” (DB World Survey), showed confidence in the business sector around the world.
94% of the survey participants expected that trade growth in 2026 would keep pace with or exceed the pace of 2025, despite increasing obstacles and fluctuations, and the fact that global trade prospects appear unstable.
The survey was conducted ahead of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, and the results are based on the opinions of 3,500 senior executives in supply chain and logistics, representing eight industries and 19 countries.
Overall, 54% of survey participants expected trade growth to accelerate compared to 2025, while 40% of them expected growth to remain at the same level.
This comes despite 53% of participants expecting high or very high levels of policy uncertainty, while 90% of them expected trade barriers to increase or remain unchanged, while only 25% of participants expected a negative impact on their business, while 49% saw no impact, while 26% expected a positive impact.
This market-derived view differs from some general economic forecasts, as the International Monetary Fund expects trade growth in terms of volume to slow to 2.3% in 2026, compared to an estimated 3.6% in 2025.
When asked which regions had the highest potential for trade growth in 2026, respondents primarily cited Europe (22%) and China (17%), followed by the Asia-Pacific region (14%) and North America (13%).
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman and CEO of DP World Group, said: “The complexities of global trade are increasing day by day and are not decreasing. Our clear role is to ensure the continued flow of trade through our understanding of the obstacles, anticipating where they may appear in the future, and investing in the infrastructure, capabilities and partnerships that enable our customers to work more efficiently and reliably.
The Global Trade Monitor’s annual forecast report was prepared in cooperation with the specialized analysis agency Horizon Group, based in Geneva.
Margarita Dereznik, managing partner at Horizon Group, said that the results show confidence supported by contingency plans, as executive leaders work to enhance flexibility in their strategies by diversifying suppliers, re-evaluating paths, and adding new alternatives, because fluctuations have become the normal situation, and the best prepared entities are those that are able to transform their plans aimed at enhancing flexibility into measurable performance.
The survey showed companies responding to disruptions by actively redesigning supply chains and trade routes.
Participants pointed to diversifying suppliers (51%), raising inventory levels (44%), and relocating supply chains to friendly countries (36%) as among the most anticipated strategic transformations in 2026.
Participants touched on enhancing the flexibility of routes, as 26% of them intend to adopt new routes, while 23% are evaluating them and basing their decisions on achieving cost savings (38%), improving connectivity and internal infrastructure (36%), and accelerating customs procedures and clearance times (35%).
60% of respondents cited customs clearance procedures as one of the main causes of delay and disruption, while executive leaders prioritize investment in warehousing facilities and logistics centers (39%), road networks (36%), and border processing and customs procedures (36%).
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