Before exploring the insights of the 2026 Everstream Analytics Risk report, we should first assess the accuracy of last year’s forecasts. The Logistics Viewpoints analyst team previously examined the 2025 report, and analyst Steve Banker shared his analysis, which is available here.
Top 5 Predicted Risks Impacting Global Supply Chains:
5: Crackdown on Forced Labor
4: Rare Metals and Minerals on Lockdown
3: More Back Doors for Cybercrime
2: Geopolitical Instability with Increased Tariff Risk
1: Drowning in Climate Change
2025 was an unprecedented year for global supply chains. Everstream Analytics forecasted the top 5 risks with the greatest potential to impact supply chains. Some predictions didn’t materialize, and others were underprojected. Unfortunately, no one has a looking glass into the future, but we can learn from what happened last year and how that may materialize for this upcoming year.
Starting at the top of the list, the crackdown on forced labor did not materialize as anticipated. The United States main focus was on tariffs and equalizing its trade deficit. At the same time, the US gave out tariffs like a free sample at your local Costco. The European Union was facing internal battles on the rollout of its Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. Eventually, it approved a reporting delay until 2029, with the expectation that the council would publish an updated list of the data the bill requires to be reported.
Resource Nationalism is when a government asserts greater control over its natural resources, such as oil, gas, and minerals. In April, the Chinese government issued an export control requiring suppliers to apply for new export licences for seven rare earth minerals and related products. Companies must navigate these complex licensing processes and potentially require approval for products made with Chinese technology. Adversely, in Trump’s OBBB tax bill, various requirements were included so that a company’s product would be unable to qualify for a tax credit if the product was made with Chinese materials tigheting the resources available to be used in a product and where they could be sourced from.
Cyberattacks were unfortunately prevalent in 2025 and are becoming more creative in their strategies of attack. In the last year, we saw third-party attacks on Salesforce, stealing their records, including those of Marks & Spencer and South Korea’s SK Telecom. In the last days of the year, a truck carrying $400k worth of Lobsters was hijacked at the warehouse before it could get to its destination of Costco.
Geopolitical instability was a driver of disruption in 2025, but not in the way predicted. Tariffs took center stage as the primary driver of global supply chain disruptions. The Houthi attacks that were prevalent in 2024 did not persist in 2025. Additionally, the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October 2025 helped mitigate escalation in the area, but not completely. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia persists and remains a high-level risk area. Geopolitical Instability remains a driver of interruption and risk, but in a changing form. Companies must remain vigilant and aware of ongoing areas of risk and plan for potential interruptions.
Climate change in 2025 supercharged natural disasters across the entire United States, including fires in the west, tornadoes in the Midwest, and widespread flooding in Texas. Southeast Asia and the Caribbean were pummeled by record breaking Typhoons and Hurricanes fueled by the abnormally warm waters. Climate change remains a consistently growing risk facing supply chains on a global scale.
Everstream concludes that while climate change remains a major risk, geopolitical instability should have been the top risk for 2025.
Top 4 2026 Risks Facing Global Supply Chains
4. Cyberattacks on Logistics
3. Critical Infrastructure Aging and Failure
2. Extreme Weather Intensification
1. Geopolitical Fragmentation and the Strategic Use of Trade Regulations
In 2025, Everstream Analytics reported 2,526 cyber incidents across all industries, almost doubling the number of events reported in 2024. State-sponsored attacks from China, Russia, and Iran targeted infrastructure on and off land.
A report from McKinsey & Company published last year estimated that globally, an investment of $106 trillion in Infrastructure would be required through 2040. $36 trillion of this investment is needed for the logistics and transport sector, including rail, ports, and roads. Aging infrastructure is extremely vulnerable to weather events, which exacerbates the issue, speeding up the degradation of these structures depended on for daily supply chain operations. Everstream predicts that at least one multibllion dollar disruption will take place in 2026 due to failing infrastructure.
From floods to droughts, extreme heat, and winter storms. Climate change is causing challenges for global supply chains, resulting in large financial losses, property damage, and prompting companies to rethink traditional processes. According to Climate Central in 2025, the U.S. experienced 23 billion-dollar weather disasters, causing upwards of $115 billion in damages and over 275 fatalities. Climate change is also impacting crops, driving up prices such as Cacao, which rose 300% in early 2025.
In the last year, we saw a sharp uptick in geopolitical events that impacted global supply chains, including tightening regulations on critical minerals, sweeping tariffs from the United States, and, most recently, the Venezuelan president being taken into custody. Alliances, broken promises, and conflicts are all results of recent geopolitical events, which heavily impact global supply chains in a multitude of ways. Treaties and partnerships can be made, but these agreements can take months to come to fruition and still leave companies fending for themselves until governing bodies can come to a decision. In 2026, companies must be ready navigate the new normal of constant chaos. Companies should equip themselves with teams, tools, and resources to analyze geopolitical events and how they may affect them and their supply chain.
In addition to staying competitive in your industry, companies face challenges from all fronts. Since 2020, supply chains have had to navigate unprecedented challenges and setbacks, which have made companies more resilient. It’s integral that organizations plan for the unknown; resilience is an action, and teams should have processes and resources in place to work through the impacts driven by the risks mentioned above.
For the full Everstream Analytics report, head to: https://www.everstream.ai/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2026-Annual-Report-Everstream-Analytics.pdf
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