WASHINGTON, D.C., April 29, 2025 – Today, FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) released its 2025 FedEx Small Business Trade Index, a survey providing insights into how U.S. small- and medium-sized business (SMB) leaders view and navigate global trade, with 95% of respondents calling global trade a good thing – vital to economic growth, business expansion, and innovation. Conducted by Morning Consult from March 25-31, 2025, the ninth iteration of the Index highlights SMB leaders’ strong participation in global markets, with 61% of respondents surveyed noting they export goods and 76% import products from other countries to create a product domestically.
SMB leaders still hold overwhelmingly positive views on global trade, despite barriers such as high fees, taxes, and regulatory complexity: 89% say trade is key to U.S. economic growth, and 78% believe increased trade benefits their businesses. Notably, when asked to compare their views on trade to a decade ago, 85% say they are more supportive of global trade today. These results are consistent with the annual Trade Index findings. When the survey launched in 2016, 71% of SMB leaders saw increasing global trade as improving the U.S. economy and today that number has risen more than 18 percentage points to 89%.
“Global trade has opened doors for our business that simply didn’t exist a decade ago,” said Dana Donofree, Founder and CEO of AnaOno, a Pennsylvania-based small business. “Tariffs and supply chain shifts have created real challenges, impacting our ability to provide products for our customers. Trade isn’t just part of our strategy—it’s central to our business.”
This sentiment was shared by a majority of respondents, with 73% of U.S. small- and medium-sized business leaders saying tariffs have been a barrier to their business internationally.
FedEx regularly commissions the Small Business Trade Index to understand trade’s evolving impact on U.S. SMBs. Operating the world’s most extensive transportation network, FedEx moves over 17 million packages a day, connecting businesses in more than 220 countries and territories.
To explore the complete findings of the 2025 FedEx Small Business Trade Index, download the full report.
2025 FedEx Small Business Trade Index ReportFor additional information on the company’s support for global trade, visit fedex.com/trade.