A new survey from Lineage suggests food and beverage supply chains are entering a period where disruption is no longer viewed as an occasional challenge but as a permanent operating condition.
The company’s 2026 Cold Chain Insights Survey, based on responses from 1,000 supply chain decision-makers across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, found that tariffs, trade uncertainty, evolving consumer demand, and artificial intelligence are increasingly shaping strategic decisions throughout North America’s temperature-controlled supply chain.
The findings suggest that food manufacturers, distributors, and logistics providers are designing supply chains around continuous adaptation rather than assuming a return to stability. According to the survey, 92% of respondents have already made strategic adjustments in response to political shifts, while 73% expect tariffs to negatively affect their company’s financial performance this year.
Policy Uncertainty Becomes a Planning Constant
Tariffs, regulations, and political shifts ranked as the most influential factors shaping supply chain decisions for 2026, with 56% of respondents placing them among their top three decision drivers. That placed external policy factors ahead of technology improvements, supply chain efficiency initiatives, and revenue growth objectives.
The survey also found that companies are broadening their definition of supply chain risk. Beyond tariffs, respondents identified changing consumer preferences (44%), global trade relationships (42%), the possibility of another pandemic-level event (41%), food recalls (35%), and extreme weather events (33%) among their top concerns for the coming year.
For companies operating reusable packaging programs, managing pallet fleets, or overseeing temperature-controlled assets, the findings underscore the growing importance of flexibility. As sourcing patterns evolve and trade policies shift, organizations increasingly need the ability to reposition inventory, adjust transportation routes, and maintain visibility across extended supply networks. Such flexibility can stand in the way of successfully managing closed-loop reusable packaging and pallet programs, where front-line training and supervision to ensure packaging can be critical.
The report also highlights a growing emphasis on domestic trade. A majority of respondents expect trade growth within their own countries over the next 12 months, including 67% in the United States, 62% in Mexico, and 56% in Canada. Rather than replacing cross-border commerce, however, companies appear to be building greater geographic flexibility into their networks while maintaining access to established North American trade corridors.
Growing Demand Creates New Operational Challenges
Demand for refrigerated and frozen foods remains strong across North America. Seventy-two percent of respondents reported increased demand during the past year, including 16% who described the increase as significant.
Yet higher demand is not necessarily translating into smoother operations. Two-thirds of respondents said their supply chains either struggle to keep pace with demand or only sometimes meet required service levels.
The survey suggests that changing consumer behavior is contributing to the challenge. Growth in e-commerce was cited by 42% of respondents as a key driver of changing demand patterns, while supply chain disruptions affecting product availability (40%), tariff-related price increases (37%), changing eating habits (37%), and shifts in fresh food costs (35%) were also identified as major influences.
For cold chain operators, these trends create a more complex planning environment. Faster fulfillment expectations, greater product variety, private-label growth, and changing purchasing patterns are increasing the importance of forecasting accuracy and inventory positioning.
The findings also carry implications for reusable packaging systems, where demand variability can affect everything from asset availability and retrieval rates to transportation planning and network utilization.
AI Moves from Experiment to Competitive Necessity
Artificial intelligence emerged as one of the survey’s strongest themes.
Sixty percent of respondents identified data and AI among the top factors positively affecting supply chain performance over the past year. Nearly one-quarter said returns on AI investments have already exceeded company expenditures, while another 62% reported returns that either met or approached expectations.
Respondents cited planning coordination, productivity improvements, and spoilage reduction as the leading benefits generated through AI adoption. The survey suggests that many organizations now view AI less as an experimental technology and more as an operational tool capable of improving day-to-day performance.
At the same time, expectations for logistics providers continue to rise. Seventy-two percent of food and beverage companies reported that their third-party logistics providers failed to meet all of their needs in 2025, while 47% believe providers lack up-to-date technology capabilities.
As a result, visibility, predictive analytics, and data integration are becoming increasingly important factors in provider selection. Companies are seeking partners that can offer not only storage and transportation capacity, but also actionable intelligence that helps them anticipate disruptions and respond more quickly when conditions change.
Taken together, the survey paints a picture of a cold chain industry adapting to a more complex operating environment. Rather than preparing for the next isolated disruption, supply chain leaders appear to be building organizations capable of operating effectively amid ongoing volatility. In that environment, resilience is increasingly measured not only by capacity, but also by visibility, flexibility, and the ability to make better decisions faster.
Rick LeBlanc, EMBA, is the founder and editor of Reusable Packaging News (subscribe to the free newsletter) and editor of Western Pallet Magazine. A supply chain journalist with more than 30 years of experience, he specializes in pallets, reusable packaging, material handling and related operations. Rick is co-author of Pallets: A North American Perspective and Pallets & Progress: A Collected History of Pallets and Palletized Handling 1922–1945. He is also an advisory board member of the Virginia Tech Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design. Read Rick’s full bio.
