This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The results of the Lehigh Business Supply Chain Risk Management Index for the fourth quarter of 2026 show a slight decrease from last quarter's sharp jump in overall risk. Transportation disruption risk remained the highest-rated category, down from its record high in the third quarter but still well above its three-year average.
"Respondents pointed to the unresolved conflict with Iran, continued fuel price volatility, driver shortages tied to tighter federal enforcement and fourth-quarter peak-season capacity constraints and surcharges," said Zach G. Zacharia, Ph.D., associate professor of supply chain management and director of the Center for Supply Chain Research at Lehigh. Economic risk followed closely, with respondents citing energy costs, persistent inflation, a high cost of capital and labor shortages.
Cybersecurity and data risk edged up, with respondents citing AI-enabled attacks outpacing defensive measures, state actors, seasonal phishing and third-party vendor exposure during the holiday period, according to the LRMI. In the head-to-head comparison, in which respondents rank all 10 risks against one another, government intervention risk was the clear top concern. Economic risk ranked second, transportation disruption risk ranked third and cybersecurity and data risk ranked fourth.
"The gap between the two views is the story of this quarter," said Zacharia. "Transportation and economic pressures are the risks most likely to worsen in the next three months, but when forced to choose, supply chain professionals see government intervention as the risk that matters most, because tariff and policy uncertainty sits upstream of their sourcing, pricing and transportation decisions and is the hardest to plan around." The LRMI was launched in 2020 by the Center for Supply Chain Research at Lehigh and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals to rank 10 broad categories of supply chain risks. According to Zacharia, the LRMI enables executives and supply chain managers to anticipate and prepare for risks that will become significant in planning for the next quarter.
The risk categories are cybersecurity and data, customer, economic, environmental, government intervention, operational, quality, supplier, technological and transportation disruption. A valuable aspect of the LRMI is that the quarterly reports include a sampling of candid comments from supply chain managers about each risk category, taking you beyond the numbers. Comments from this new fourth-quarter report include: BA art history, MA material culture.
Former museum editor, paramedic, and transplant coordinator. Editing for Science X since 2021. Full profile → Master's in physics with research experience.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
