What keeps sourcing and supply chain executives up at night? A lot.
From tariffs and global conflicts to talent shortages and political uncertainty, executive leaders face significant challenges as the industry looks ahead to 2027, according to the results of Sourcing Journal’s Executive Sentiment Survey.
Despite the macroeconomic hurdles, most industry executives have a somewhat positive attitude. When asked what their overall business outlook for their supply chain operations is heading into 2027, 46.7 percent said they are cautiously optimistic, while 34.3 percent said they are neutral. Just over 12 percent said they are cautiously pessimistic. And just 6.7 percent said they are “highly optimistic.”
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When asked how they expect their total volume of sourced goods to change in 2027 versus this year, 47.6 percent of respondents expect a moderate 1 to 10 percent increase, while 32.4 percent said it will be flat/stable. Of those polled, 11.4 percent expect a significant increase (greater than 10 percent).
This sentiment comes at a time when global sourcing volumes are experiencing a state of resilient restructuring, which is being characterized by high baseline freight and ocean trade volumes, paired with a structural shift toward multi-hub, regionalized networks. According to industry analysts, overall sourcing throughput has hit record levels while diversifying rapidly away from single-source dependencies.
com shows record ocean throughput. 9 million TEUs this year.
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