Descartes: Macroeconomic Uncertainties Weigh on Forwarders and Brokers' Growth Strategies
Software developer Descartes found that the majority of the 434 freight forwarders and customs brokers it surveyed globally are taking a wait-and-see approach to company growth amid worldwide macroeconomic uncertainties, according to the company's annual Forwarder/Broker Benchmark Study released this week.
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"Survey respondents report the largest decline of greater-than-100K shipment volumes since 2019 -- down 17 percentage points since the peak in 2022 -- and the greatest increase in less-than-10K shipment volumes," the survey said. About 24% of survey respondents were from the U.S., and the remainder came from Canada and five other continents.
According to the survey, 60% of respondents viewed "global instability" as the macroeconomic challenge having the most impact on the industry over the next five years. While this view "has been strong and persistent since 2019," this factor reached its highest peak in 2025, the survey said.
U.S. trade and security policies was the second most popular choice at 35%, "likely due to the current volatile trade climate." The Chinese economy as a macroeconomic challenge came in third place at about 30%.
"Tariff volatility, an unprecedented challenge arising this year -- ranking high in many of the 2025 survey categories -- adds to the uncertainty of the global trading environment. Meanwhile, many forwarders and brokers, especially smaller companies, lack the capital to invest assertively in growth."
This uncertainty has led many logistics companies globally to shift from a proactive growth stance to a more defensive posture, "simply trying to survive the economic, geopolitical and regulatory storms," the survey continued.
Macroeconomic uncertainties are also weighing on logistics companies' approach to technology, according to the survey. While 67% of those surveyed see technology as "fundamental or highly important for growth," coupled with "a rising interest in critical technologies such as rate management and compliance management," many companies are also taking a wait-and-see approach, especially as smaller companies are hamstrung by a lack of access to capital, the survey said.
While the majority of survey respondents have been labeling themselves as being "middle of the pack" from 2019 to 2025 when it comes to technology strategies, self-identified "laggards" have been steadily increasing, although their share overall is still the smallest, at around 13% or 14%.
"A small but steady group of Early Adopters continues to invest in and experiment with technology, but this is on a smaller scale than the transformative initiatives we have seen in the past. From 2021 to 2022, the survey results show an acceleration in technology adoption, with more Fast Followers emerging in 2021 and more Early Adopters in 2022," the survey said. "However, from 2023 to 2025 momentum is clearly slowing. The innovation curve has plateaued, with most firms settling back into the conservative strategies exhibited during 2019 and 2020."
This dichotomy is also seen in companies' perception of AI, with a majority calling AI "the main source of IT value over the next two years," even though their commitment to AI is "uneven," according to the survey. Almost a third have not implemented any AI solutions, while only 12% said Generative AI is "fundamental in their organization."
"The majority of firms are still in the early to middle stages of AI maturity, expressing curiosity and intention, even pursuing exploration, but not fully executing," the survey said, finding that while 18% consider themselves pioneers on the cutting edge, 39% wish to implement AI solutions in the future but have yet to do so, and 28% have not implemented any AI solutions.