Gillian Tett of the financial times wrote an encouraging piece in the FT last week about the anticipated rebound in global trade in 2021. She makes a cautious bet that trade will rebound and signs from Elevate’s customers in Q4 this year gives us confidence that she is right to make this call.
Tett rightly pointed out the challenges experienced in 2020, with exporters navigating a pandemic and increased ‘xenophobia and nationalism.’ Citing reports released by DHL and New York University’s Stern Business School, outlining the impact of the global pandemic and trade wars this year, & separate reports from McKinsey and HSBC, it is clear that warning signs still persist and are concerning exporters. HSBC said that 93% of exporters (10,000 companies polled) are still anxious about supply chain disruptions and Mckinsey reported that companies expect a month long disruption to the supply chain every 3.7 years.
In addition, Elevate President Ed Walsh believes that as more investors look for higher yields, account receivables are one of the potential alternatives which could also factor into this rebound.
The FT article concludes that the rapid development of ecommerce this year has boosted collaboration. Tett says, ‘ globalization of information fuels global commerce making cross-border supply chains more attractive.’ Indeed, several exporters and logistics companies I have spoken to have said that they have advanced their technology by 10 years in just 6 months. (Kevin Fairs)