Global Supply Chains Enter Era of Structural Volatility, World Economic Forum Report Finds

Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 19 January 2026 – Global value chains have entered an era of structural volatility, according to a World Economic Forum report released today, forcing companies and governments to reevaluate how and where they invest and produce. The report finds that nearly three in four business leaders now prioritize resilience investments, with 74% viewing resilience as a driver of growth.

Set against a backdrop of geopolitical fragmentation, accelerating technological change and mounting resource constraints, the new report – Global Value Chains Outlook 2026: Orchestrating Corporate and National Agility – developed in collaboration with Kearney, examines how companies and governments can remain competitive as disruption becomes a permanent feature rather than a cyclical shock.

“Volatility is no longer a temporary disruption; it is a structural condition leaders must plan for,” said Kiva Allgood, Managing Director, World Economic Forum. “Competitive advantage now comes from foresight, optionality and ecosystem coordination. Companies and countries that build these capabilities together will be best positioned to attract investment, secure supply and sustain growth in an increasingly fragmented global economy.”

The scale of the shift is already evident. In 2025 alone, tariff escalations between major economies reshuffled more than $400 billion in global trade flows, while disruptions across major shipping routes pushed container shipping costs up 40% year on year, signalling a decisive move away from short-term shocks towards enduring uncertainty. At the same time, manufacturing output across advanced economies is growing at its weakest pace since 2009, while more than 3,000 new trade and industrial policy measures were introduced globally in 2025 alone – more than three times the annual level recorded a decade ago. Together, these forces underscore why supply chain resilience has become a central determinant of national competitiveness and corporate strategy.

A central feature of the report is the launch of the Manufacturing and Supply Chain Readiness Navigator, a new digital tool that translates these insights into actionable intelligence. Drawing on leading global indices, the Navigator supports strategic decision-making on industrial policy and manufacturing footprint design. Governments can use it to diagnose competitiveness gaps and prioritize reforms, while companies can assess infrastructure readiness and ecosystem maturity when making location and investment decisions.

The report also highlights how targeted national approaches are already shaping manufacturing competitiveness. In Ireland, enterprise-led upskilling through Skillnet Ireland links government, business and educators to deliver subsidized training aligned with industry needs. In China, large-scale investment in digital infrastructure under the New Infrastructure initiative has enabled real-time industrial connectivity through widespread 5G deployment. In Qatar, a national dashboard tracking essential food items in real time strengthens supply security by enabling early intervention, buffer stocks and rapid, data-driven responses to disruption.

“Supply chain disruption in 2026 will be constant and structural. Geopolitical fragmentation, shifting trade rules and labour shortages are all redefining how value is created and moved,” said Per Kristian Hong, Partner, Kearney. “For supply leaders, the priority is no longer forecasting disruption, but redesigning operating models to function under permanent uncertainty. That means moving away from efficiency-driven supply chains and towards adaptive networks that can be reconfigured with optionality as conditions change.”