News Room

Global supply chains are on edge after the US and Israel launched military strikes on Iran on Saturday, triggering widespread disruption across one of the world's most critical trade corridors. The fallout is hitting more than oil tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz. Container ships loaded with consumer goods, auto parts, electronics, and food are being rerouted or delayed, while air cargo networks are fracturing under sudden airspace closures.

The Detroit Three carmakers are closely monitoring the newly ignited war in Iran for any impact it could have on their operations in the Middle East as well as how the prediction of gasoline prices soaring might affect U.S. new vehicle sales.

As the ongoing regional war in the Middle East continues to send shockwaves across global shipping networks, the longer the conflict drags on, the more likely it is to drive up transportation costs and force companies to either rethink supply chain strategies or price in the new pressures. Sunderesh Heragu, a Regents Professor of industrial engineering at Oklahoma State University who studies logistics and supply chains, said the eventual scope and duration of the conflict will determine how severely global trade routes are affected.

Oil tankers drifting aimlessly in the Persian Gulf may be the most visible economic symbol of the Iran war, but the damage is starting to spread to areas that aren’t as immediately obvious—American farmers, Asian chip makers, and European drugmakers, to name just a few. The war has sparked a supply-chain mess that’s disrupting the global economy and boosting inflation.

A recent Wall Street Journal investigation by Sharon Terlep paints a sobering picture of America's EV supply chain crisis. The March 31, 2026 article, "America Now Has an EV Rust Belt. High Gas Prices Won't Rescue It," chronicles how dozens of EV parts plants across the United States now sit largely empty—casualties of a dramatic market reversal that has left suppliers scrambling.