Global supply chain pressure reached its highest level in nearly four years in April as the Iran war disrupted the movement of goods and drove up fuel prices.
The Global Supply Chain Pressure Index (GSCPI) rose to 1.82 in April, up from 0.68 in March and 0.55 in February, according to data released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The figure for April is the highest since the 1.86 recorded in July 2022, according to an Excel spreadsheet released along with the update.
The GSCPI uses data from the transportation and manufacturing sectors to gauge the state of global supply chains, according to the website.
A zero in the index indicates that it is at its average value, while a positive value indicates higher global supply chain pressure and a negative value indicates lower pressure, according to a staff report on the GSCPI.
The GSCPI reached its record high of 4.47 in December 2021, per the spreadsheet. The index’s data goes back to September 1997. The last time the index had a negative value, or lower-than-average global supply chain pressure, was November 2025.
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Reuters reported Wednesday that while the New York Fed did not explain the increase in the index, the rise coincides with the war in the Middle East and the constraints that war has put on the movement of goods.
It was reported April 24 that the gas price spike caused by the Iran war had driven consumer sentiment to the lowest level in at least 73 years.
New York Fed President and CEO John C. Williams said Monday (May 4) that “notable” supply chain disruptions have emerged, with sharp increases in delivery times and input prices. In a speech delivered Monday, Williams compared the situation to that seen in 2021 when the world economy was emerging from the pandemic.
“Because the global economy is highly integrated, the emerging supply chain issues will have wide-ranging consequences,” Williams said. “For example, Asian countries that play a key role in the supply of high-tech equipment are particularly exposed to shortages of various commodities. Thus, the conflict could result in a larger and broader-based supply shock that has more severe adverse consequences for inflation and economic activity.”
