Moving what’s next: The new map of global trade
How ports, warehouses and logistics networks are adapting to shifting trade patterns
On Pier B at the Port of Long Beach, a new on-dock rail facility is being built to more than triple the port’s ability to move cargo from ships on to trains, while cutting transfer times from four days to 24 hours. As ports adapt to more complex and less predictable trade flows, this is a striking investment in a technology more than two centuries old. Global trade is still growing, but trade routes are shifting. Long Beach, in California, is one of America’s busiest container ports and handled record cargo volumes last year. Yet China’s share of traffic has fallen from about 70% in 2018 to around 60% today, while other Asian trading partners have gained ground. Shifting trade routes are not confined to the Pacific: US trade with the European Union fell sharply in the first quarter of 2026, reshaping traffic through Atlantic ports. Diversification can also make journeys longer. Shipping from South-east Asia to Long Beach adds typically two to three days of transit time compared with shipping from China, says Noel Hacegaba, the port’s chief executive. Pier B will help to win some of that time back once cargo reaches the United States.
Companies cannot redesign their supply chains every time geopolitics changes.”
Devin Barnwell, managing partner, global head of investment and co-head of logistics at Brookfield
Building for uncertainty Geopolitical tensions and rising US tariffs are adding to trade uncertainty, putting a greater premium on logistics networks that can reroute goods quickly and absorb disruption.
“Companies cannot redesign their supply chains every time geopolitics changes,” says Devin Barnwell, a managing partner, global head of investment and co-head of logistics for Brookfield’s logistics arm. “So demand is shifting towards a more diversified and adaptable network of logistics assets.” The pandemic and the subsequent demand surge exposed the limits of “just in time”, a logistics system built around keeping inventories low and supply chains tightly timed. Ports backed up, goods were delayed and consumers were frustrated by shortages. But the emphasis now is shifting from efficiency alone to resilience. Ms Barnwell describes the emerging model as “the right place at the right time”: a more closely integrated network of ports, inland transport and warehouses that can keep goods moving even as trade routes change. Infrastructure investors are thinking about logistics assets in a different way now. Ports, railways and warehouses are increasingly valuable not simply for what they can handle individually, but for how they connect. For long-term investors, there is an added complication. Trade routes can shift much faster than ports or railways can be built. Dave Joynt, a managing partner in Brookfield’s infrastructure group, says that investors do not need to predict precisely what will be moving in each container decades from now. The bigger question is which critical nodes will continue to require capacity as populations, consumption and trade evolve.
Making the network visible Better physical connections are only part of the equation. Ports are also investing in the information needed to see, in real time, where goods are and where bottlenecks are forming. Long Beach this year launched CargoNav, a digital platform developed partly in response to the congestion experienced during the pandemic. As well as allowing companies to track shipments and plan operations in real time, it includes a universal trucking appointment system for scheduling container pickups and drop-offs across the entire port complex. “The ultimate goal is end-to-end supply-chain visibility and coast-to-coast connectivity,” says Dr Hacegaba.
The competitive advantage isn’t always a bigger port. It’s a smarter network,”
Dave Joynt, managing partner in Brookfield’s infrastructure group
Faster and cleaner Speed and resilience are not the only demands being placed on trade infrastructure. Ports are also under pressure to reduce emissions. Long Beach plans to invest US$3.3bn in its infrastructure over the next decade and aims to double annual cargo throughput by 2050. Last year, Long Beach approved an agreement with Brookfield, which is partnering with Nautilus International on plans for Metro Express, which Dr Hacegaba describes as “the first conventional zero-emissions container terminal in the world”. It will replace diesel-powered operations with battery-electric equipment and more advanced data systems. But Metro Express will also prioritise speed. The proposed terminal would handle up to 1.8m TEUs a year, with high-volume imports pre-sorted into dedicated stacks, and with 24-hour operation. The aim is partly to serve e-commerce customers managing fast-changing inventories while using zero-emissions equipment and trucks.
Disruption is becoming less exceptional. “What companies used to consider a ‘black swan’ event is now a normal part of doing business,” says Ms Barnwell.
Global goods trade grew by more than 4% last year, despite tariffs. The challenge is to build for growth, while assuming that today’s trade routes may shift and evolve. “The competitive advantage isn’t always a bigger port. It’s a smarter network,” Mr Joynt explains. Long Beach has learned that adaptability is operational as well as physical. During the pandemic, it extended terminal hours and repurposed more than 100 acres of vacant land for temporary container storage. When importers later front-loaded goods in response to changing tariffs, many of the relationships and procedures needed to handle the surge were already in place.
All of this points to a broader rethink of what efficiency means. “Redundancy used to be considered inefficient,” Ms Barnwell points out. “Now we call it resilience.”
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