Global supply chains are not just offshoring: reading the new Istat report
Istat’s new report on global value chains, published on November 10, 2026, describes 2021-2023 rather than companies’ current position.[1]
That distinction matters: 2.0% of medium-sized and large enterprises reported moving business activities or functions abroad during that period, down 0.4 percentage points from the previous three-year period.[1]
The release was listed in Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor’s November 10 agenda.[2]
The results presented here come instead from Istat’s primary publication, whose web page was read in full.[2]
An agenda documents a scheduled release; it does not validate the report’s figures.[2][1]
Offshoring is not the same as participating in international supply chains.[1]
During the period covered, 10,181 enterprises, or 39.1% of medium-sized and large firms, bought goods abroad as participants in a global value chain.[1]
Among these buyers, 87.8% identified the EU27 as an origin for goods: this measures companies, not the EU’s share of import value.[1]
The report highlights supply difficulties.[1]
Higher energy-related raw-material costs were reported by 64.0% of enterprises, other increases in the costs of materials and goods by 53.9%, and transport capacity, timing or cost problems by 41.5%.[1]
These are survey responses about difficulties, not percentage changes in prices.[1]
Among organisational responses, 23.4% of enterprises rated a stronger focus on reliable or competitive suppliers as particularly relevant, reducing the overall supplier count or orders placed with some suppliers.[1]
Bringing previously offshored business functions back home was among the measures considered less significant.[1]
Our editorial conclusion is that sourcing abroad, relocating operations overseas and bringing activities back to Italy are separate phenomena. Treating them as interchangeable weakens the discussion about industrial resilience. This report provides historical evidence for that discussion, not a real-time measurement of the effects of policies adopted in 2026.
## Sources
[1] https://www.istat.it/comunicato-stampa/catene-globali-del-valore-delle-medie-e-grandi-imprese-anni-2021-2023 — Istat, catene globali del valore: pubblicazione 10 novembre 2026, riferimento 2021-2023
[2] https://www.ilsole24ore.com/radiocor/nRC_10.11.2026_07.05_410004 — Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor, agenda 10 novembre 2026