War risk in the Red Sea, drought-choked shipping in the Panama Canal, the unresolved Russian invasion of Ukraine, unstable geopolitical relationships: If anything, the global trade environment has become even more unstable since 2023, much less since COVID first upended all expectations in 2020. The global pivot toward decarbonization and energy security continues, shaping regulations and massive long-term infrastructure investments. At the same time, oil and gas investment remains strong and few expect this to change any time soon. Cargo owners continue to diversify sourcing, but shifting away from China is easier said than done. What should the breakbulk and project cargo logistics community expect in such a chaotic global environment? Are there bright spots? Could things actually be less chaotic than they feel? We are pleased to welcome back Laurence Allan, director of research, country risk analysis, and forecasting at S&P Global, as our opening keynote. Allan leads S&P Global’s country risk regional team for Europe/CIS and directs analysis and forecasting of political and violent risks, including geopolitical and global themes and their impacts on the business environment. Allan will delve into the implications of this changing status quo for the breakbulk industry in this timely and important keynote session.