Government Intervention in the Supply Chain Concerns Experts

The results of the Lehigh Business Supply Chain Risk Management Index
for the 2nd quarter of 2026 indicate a broad-based decrease in overall risk,
with nine of ten risk categories declining. However, many respondents
completed the survey prior to the Iran conflict, and its impact may not be fully
reflected in the data.

According to the LRMI, Cybersecurity and Data Risk is the highest-rated risk, reflecting the persistent and elevated threat landscape facing digital supply chains.

“Supplier Risk and Economic Risk tied for the second highest, both declining from their first-quartet levels, indicating some stabilization in macroeconomic conditions and supplier relationships,” said Zacharia. “Transportation Disruption Risk rose sharply, signaling renewed concerns about logistics bottlenecks, shipping route disruptions, and freight cost volatility.

The LRMI was launched in 2020 by the Center for Supply Chain Research at Lehigh and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals in order 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 unique feature of the LRMI is the opportunity to compare all 10 risk categories directly against each other, rather than scoring each one individually. When supply chain professionals take that approach, the top four risks for the 2nd quarter of 2026 are government intervention, cybersecurity and data, economics, and supplier.

Another 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 2nd quarter report include:

• The LLMs depend on good data; the sourcing of data could be compromised.
• As you see playing out in the war with Iran, currently cyberattacks are an absolute threat and
  expanding by the hour.
• Sourcing disruption risk is expected to rise in the near term due to several converging factors:
  the ongoing uncertainty surrounding tariffs, the war in the Middle East, and the onboarding of
  many new suppliers.
• Our electric and water bids are up this quarter; we expect to see an increase in the cost of our
  electricity bids in Q2.
• With over 100 diesel and propane school buses on the road we are extremely exposed.
  

LRMI reports are available every quarter in March, June, Sept. and Dec. Tap here to get the latest report and find out how supply chain managers can take the LRMI survey for the next quarter.