Global trade is booming again in 2025 — the fastest growth since 2010. In this episode of The Freight Buyers’ Club, supported by Ontegos Cloud, Mike King talks with DHL Express CEO John Pearson about the new DHL Global Connectedness Tracker and what it reveals about today’s trade surge. From China’s export expansion and Africa’s growing trade power, to tariffs, de-minimis changes, and shifting supply chains, Pearson explains how global commerce is evolving and why globalisation is far from dead.
Essential listening for anyone in freight forwarding, logistics, or international trade.

Full Description

DHL’s latest Global Connectedness Tracker shows global trade growth at its fastest pace since 2010.
In this episode of The Freight Buyers’ Club, supported by Ontegos Cloud, the freight forwarder profitability specialist, host Mike King speaks with John Pearson, CEO of DHL Express, about what’s driving the remarkable rebound in global trade and supply chains in 2025.

They discuss China’s export boom, Africa’s rising influence in international logistics, and why globalisation is far from dead despite tariffs, shifting trade routes, and new supply chain pressures. Pearson explains how DHL is adapting to changing trade lanes, what record trade-lane deviations really mean, and why the world’s buyers and sellers are proving more creative and resilient than ever.

Expect clear insights on:

• The fastest global trade growth in over a decade
• The new trade corridors shaping global logistics
• China’s 26% export surge into Sub-Saharan Africa
• The US retreat from trade vs. global expansion elsewhere
• How DHL is positioning for long-term supply chain growth

The Freight Buyers’ Club — where the people who move the world’s goods talk straight about what’s really happening in global logistics and international trade.

In this Freight Buyers’ Club interview, produced with the support of Ontegos Cloud, host Mike King speaks to Rainer Haag, CEO of DHL Supply Chain Europe, at the grand opening of DHL’s new European Innovation Center in Troisdorf, Germany.

They discuss how DHL is turning innovation into action — applying AI, automation, and digitalisation to make supply chains more resilient, sustainable, and efficient — while navigating the trade and tariff shifts reshaping global freight.

Rainer shares insights on:

• How DHL decides which technologies to pilot and scale
• The impact of robotics and automation on people and performance
• Why “digital by default” is central to DHL’s operations
• How European trade flows are adapting to disruption and nearshoring
• The next wave of technology transforming logistics

️ Hosted by Mike King, The Freight Buyers’ Club
Supported by Ontegos Cloud — the freight forwarder profitability specialist
Recorded at the DHL Innovation Center, Troisdorf, Germany

#FreightBuyersClub #DHL #SupplyChain #Logistics #Trade #Freight #Automation #AIinLogistics #Warehousing #Innovation #LogisticsNews #OntegosCloud

Shipping analyst Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime, explains to host Mike King how carriers are responding to new US port fees on Chinese-built vessels, the reshuffling of fleets, and why global ship orders aren’t shifting away from China despite the new policy. This extended clip is from The Big Interview – Freight Buyers Club EP54, produced with the support of Dimerco Express Group. https://dimerco.com/ #LarsJensen #FreightBuyersClub #ContainerShipping #USPortFees #CarrierStrategy #ChineseShips #ShipOrders #GlobalTrade #MaritimeLogistics #DimercoExpressGroup