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Matt Zimmer, head of investment banking at William Blair & Co., said that companies in industries such as transportation, logistics, and industrial are still successfully passing on higher fuel and input costs to customers. However, if energy prices remain high, this support for corporate transaction activity may be difficult to sustain. Transportation and logistics companies have introduced fuel surcharges, and industrial companies including petrochemical and packaging-related companies have also been raising prices. "At some point, these companies may have to absorb some or even all of the cost increases themselves." According to compiled data, global M&A transactions started strong this year with the first quarter reaching approximately $1.3 trillion, but Zimmer said that if companies lose the ability to pass on costs to consumers, this momentum may weaken. Transaction structures are also changing, moving away from software and technology towards more resilient demand in foundational, labor-intensive service sectors including infrastructure, environmental services, and HVAC-related transactions. At the same time, private equity investors (especially in Europe and the United States) have shown a "general interest" in defense spending.