Supply Chain
The Epicenter of Interconnected Risk
Global supply chains have faced decades of disruptions, including the ongoing reshoring revolution, physical network challenges ranging from the Red Sea and port strikes to extreme weather and war, a consumer goods boom during the pandemic and, most recently, the return of U.S. trade protectionism. Yet, supply chain strength positively impacts a company’s performance and value. An analysis of approximately 1,800 U.S. companies from 1995 to 2020 revealed that resilient companies outperformed their peers during crises,[1] significantly impacting shareholder return.
The 2020 – 2023 semiconductor shortage was certainly a period of crises that tested corporate resilience. The chip shortage caused many automakers to halt production of new vehicles, with seven million cars not being produced that year. Many have since learned the value of supplier diversification. Data in S&P Global Market Intelligence’s report, “The Big Picture 2025: Supply Chain”, showed that the number of unique suppliers per company increased from 80 in 2020 to 116 in 2024.[2]
AI is also helping companies better manage their supply chains. Many shipping and logistics companies rely on AI-powered solutions to streamline their operations and enhance transparency throughout their supply chains. This is especially critical considering ongoing geopolitical disruptions, such as the Houthis sinking two merchant ships in the Red Sea in early July 2025. The renewal of these attacks increases the likelihood that container shipping firms will continue to use Cape of Good Hope routes for shipments into north Europe and the U.S. East Coast, despite the need for faster shipping to beat tariffs.
As global trade and operations evolve, businesses must adapt to emerging challenges and opportunities to remain competitive. S&P Global Market Intelligence’s suite of trade intelligence services brings transparency to global trade through robust global coverage, powerful machine-learning technologies and dynamic data visualizations to help companies identify potential business partners, keep track of competitors and, importantly, have an early warning system in place to quickly identify potential disruptions. The Global Trade Analytics Suite is part of the offering, providing commodity- and product-level trade intelligence for monitoring reshoring, near-shoring and market dynamics by commodities and/or country pairs.
Complementing this, the Maritime Intelligence Risk Suite integrates the world’s largest maritime database, real-time ship movement tracking software and risk events to provide a one-stop maritime solution — essential intelligence as geopolitical crises, global money laundering, deceptive shipping, cargo theft, piracy and crew kidnappings challenge all businesses with global supply chains.
Tariffs have introduced extensive uncertainty into global trade dynamics with far reaching implications for supply chains and incoming port traffic. Front-loading of imports to stockpile goods before the tariffs took effect led to a surge in U.S. port activity. However, offsetting export activity did not take place, which resulted in an accumulation of empty containers that strained port operations. A U.S. port authority needed critical details about ships coming into its port and when ships changed their destination or estimated arrival time. The Maritime Intelligence Risk Suite enabled the port to monitor mid-ocean/coastal areas and verify ships in their waters. It also provided essential piracy and security intelligence helping the port identify, monitor and forecast security risk.
Supply chain risk is also a major concern for companies with illiquid and hard-to-price assets since market turmoil further widens the number of buyers to sellers. S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Valuation Solutions helps provide reliable assessments of the true worth of these assets — whether fixed income, OTC derivatives, structured notes, illiquid debt, suspended shares, private equity holdings or unique assets. This gives both buyers and sellers the confidence that the price represents the market value of their assets.
[1] “Becoming an All-Weather Company”, BCG, https://www.bcg.com/publications/2020/how-to-become-an-all-weather-resilient-company.
[2] “The Big Picture 2025: Supply Chain”, S&P Global Market Intelligence, January 31, 2025, www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/news-insights/research/the-big-picture-2025-supplychain.
