Bounce back

The study, commissioned by DP World and conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit, found that 70 per cent of businesses predict trade will recover to pre-pandemic levels more quickly than recovery after the financial crisis of 2008, which took two years and two months. Nearly a third thought the recovery would be twice as fast, with trade returned to pre-pandemic levels within a year. Commenting on the results, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, CEO and Chairman of DP World, said: “The effects of the pandemic have accelerated the transformation of the supply chains and prompted rapid adaptation to ensure resiliency in international trade. The global business community has risen to the challenge and taken strong and decisive action to make supply chains more robust and agile – the benefits of which will be reaped in future years.”

The study also found that on average, firms said they are reallocating a third of their revenue from the first half of 2020 to remodelling their supply chains.