Supply Chain: The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review

6 TRADE REGIONALIZATION: MORE HYPE THAN REALITY?

by Steven A. Altman and Caroline R. Bastian

For more than a decade, experts have been predicting a shift to more-regionalized trade patterns, as companies adopt near-shoring strategies to produce goods closer to the markets where they will be sold. Many expected Covid-19 to turbocharge this trend.

But recent data suggests a more skeptical take on trade regionalization. Trade flows have stretched out over longer distances, even during the pandemic.¹ While trade regionalization may increase moving forward, we wouldn’t bet on a transformational shift from global to regional business.

The Elusive Evidence of Rising Regionalization

In our DHL Global Connectedness Index 2021 Update report, we track ...