Uncertainty gives way to confidence: Transport & logistics adapts to “new normal”

The U-Freight Group has a strong global presence across all modes of freight transport and keeps a watchful eye on the state of supply chains within international trade.

With all the uncertainty there has been this year, causing disruption to supply chains around the world, it was good to read a bit of positive commentary from Transport Intelligence (Ti) in its Total Logistics market size and forecasts report.

It said that whilst the global logistics industry has experienced a profound – and understandable – crisis of confidence throughout 2025, its indicators suggest that improvements are on the way.

The negative sentiment was hardly surprising given the market uncertainty that was created at the beginning of the year by President Trump’s volatile tariff policies; the on-going geopolitical conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East; economic stagnation and political paralysis in Europe; and a slow down in China and Asia.

However, Ti says the reality may be that the business downturn was caused more by fear and uncertainty than actual economic conditions. With more confidence growing – as is evident from many of Ti Insight’s indicators – we may be about to see an upturn in buying behaviour which could unlock sustained growth.

Ti says its indicators suggest that European demand appears to be strengthening, China’s deflation crisis seems to be passing (though the real estate slump continues) and the US economy has proved resilient to tariffs. 

As a consequence, the performance of the logistics industry has not been as poor as expected and could be about to improve further especially given the signs of a long-awaited recovery.

That is not to say that risks do not remain, not least in certain sectors where inventory ‘frontloading’ has been extreme. Many US importers have placed orders ahead of tariff deadlines, creating a ‘cliff edge’ and leading to artificially elevated shipping volumes. 

The expectation for some consumer sectors is for a weaker 2026 in terms of orders, inbound logistics demand and inventory throughput. 

The report reveals which sectors are most at risk of a poor 2026 and which are likely to have a stronger recovery and can be downloaded from the Ti website.

For more information about the U-Freight Group’s global freight forwarding and logistics services, or our e-commerce logistics operations, please visit the relevant pages of this website or contact your local office, details of which can be seen here: https://ufreight.com/locations