Disrupt or Be Disrupted: The Top 2022 Supply Chain Challenges

---

Do you remember the Ever Given? How about the hundreds of container ships waiting to unload at LA and Long Beach ports? Or, recall the supermarket’s empty shelves during the pandemic's early months?      

These images endure because they are rare and extraordinary. They were also shown repeatedly on the nightly news and centerpieces for a national conversation about supply chain disruptions.   

However, let’s be clear… the Ever Given, west-coast logjams, and empty shelves are not typical. The news media prioritizes the sensational and the abnormal. A distinctive case turns heads, draws interest, and secures a larger market share. The consequence is a distorted view of reality that often diverts attention from the real problems.

Supply chains got rocked in 2022

Can you name the top global supply chain disruptors in 2022? Likely high on the list would be port congestion, extreme weather, the Russian-Ukraine War, and the covid lockdowns in China.

This makes sense because supply-chain news focused on these events. Provocative images of human struggle, political conflict, senseless inefficiency, and excessive government control attract a large audience.

Now let’s look at the actual list of top disruptors.

The Resilinc Report is on a roll

A recent report from Resilinc shows overall supply-chain disruptions were up 32% in 2022. Factory fires were cited as the top disruptor.

Factory fires? Not war; not persistent west-coast bottlenecks, and not Bejing’s zero covid policies.    

Yes, factory fires were the real story in 2022. They increased by 85%, the most ever recorded in a single year (3,609 fires).

But fires were not front-page news…

Be aware & stay ahead of the curve

Consider the other disruptors on Resilinc’s top 10 list below.   

Port congestion checks in at number 10, while extreme weather, covid lockdowns, and Ukraine do not even make the cut.

So be aware that by focusing on the unusual and the rare event, the media portray a biased picture of reality.  And as consumers of news, we frequently adopt that reality and align our judgments accordingly.

---

Top 10 global supply chain disruptions for 2022

1.      Factory fires

2.      Mergers and acquisitions

3.      Business sale

4.      Leadership transition

5.      Factory disruption

6.      Labor disruption

7.       Legal action

8.      Cyber attack

9.      Recalls

10.   Port disruption

*Note:  Resilinc’s data is collected on 400 different types of disruptions across 104 million sources including – traditional news outlets, social media platforms, wire services, videos, and government reports. It is the most comprehensive supply chain risk data assembled. 

---