Shifting manufacturing patterns and disruption of established trade routes are increasing the role of feeder, coastal and short-sea shipping in connecting production centres to international markets, according to DP World.
In a statement accompanying its new white paper, Navigating the Future of Maritime Trade, the company said geopolitical disruption, climate pressures and changing trade policies were reshaping global cargo flows.
It argued that regional shipping services, integrated with inland rail, road and river networks, could give shippers more gateways and alternative routes when established corridors were disrupted.
Manufacturing was becoming more geographically dispersed, with India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa playing larger roles in production and creating new regional shipping patterns, DP World said.
Linking ports, shipping services and inland logistics was central to giving cargo owners more options, Ganesh Raj, global chief operating officer of DP World’s Marine Services business, said.
“A key part of this is optimising what we call ‘Connected Trade Corridors’, building more choice and adaptability into the system by linking ports, marine services and inland logistics so cargo has alternative routes when conditions shift.”
According to DP World, the white paper argues that disruption is no longer episodic, with tariffs and the redistribution of manufacturing contributing to structural changes in cargo movements.
The company also cited its separate 2026 Global Trade Observatory survey, in which 94% of more than 3 500 supply chain and logistics executives expected trade growth this year to match or exceed 2025 levels.
DP World said the findings suggested global trade was being reconfigured, with stronger connections between regional ports and international shipping networks becoming increasingly important.
