Freight News, Sea


Mideast crisis highlights threat of supply chain chokepoints

[ April 24, 2026   //   ]

Recent events in the Straits of Hormuz and the Red Sea have made international companies more mindful of other potential shipping chokepoints, says Geraint John, vice-presidenbt of research and advisory at analysts  Zero100.

He says: “While maritime chokepoints have been the source of multiple supply chain disruptions during the past five years, major waterways like the Suez Canal/Red Sea and Panama Canal can be navigated around – albeit at significant time and expense. But the conflict in the Middle East has highlighted the Strait of Hormuz as a single point of failure when it comes to getting oil, gas, and critical raw materials out of the Gulf region.”

Businesses are responding by moving to suppliers in different regions, increasing inventories of critical materials and, in many cases, raising prices.

They are predicting either intermittent but ongoing low-intensity conflict or a sustained Gulf crisis and very few are banking on a quick diplomatic resolution to the crisis, and even if negotiations between the US/Israel and Iran prove fruitful in the coming days, and disruption to supply chains is likely to continue.

He said: “Perhaps most notably, the Strait of Hormuz crisis is prompting business leaders to ask ‘what are the other global chokepoints that we need to be aware of?’

“Aside from the Red Sea, shipping routes at risk – and which require contingency plans – include the Strait of Malacca, through which 80% of China’s oil imports flow, and the Taiwan Strait, which facilitates around one-fifth of global maritime trade.

“Reduced dependence on these higher-risk geographic chokepoints and suppliers in these regions could be the lasting legacy of the Iran war from a supply chain perspective, along with an acceleration of moves to regionalized or localized supply chains – already underway due to tariffs and global trade disruption.”

“At the same time, business leaders need to continue investing in network design, AI capabilities, and operating models to ensure that supply chains can respond to geopolitical events and other shocks in a fast and agile way.”

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