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Discover the top supply chain disruptions of 2024 and other significant supply chain trends from Resilinc’s exclusive data.
The supply chain landscape in 2024 was characterized by significant transformations and challenges, with resiliency as a key theme across all industries. To strengthen resiliency, companies invested in AI and machine learning, made strides to reduce dependency on single sourcing, and prioritized nearshoring and reshoring efforts. On the flip side, challenges like economic instability, climate change, and geopolitical disruptions continued to test supply chain resilience.
In this blog, we analyze Resilinc’s EventWatchAI data from 2024. Looking at the numbers behind these overall trends, we reveal the top five disruptions, top industries impacted, and other significant supply chain shifts from the year.
Quick Stats
- Supply chain disruptions increased 38% YoY overall in 2024.
- Factory fires were the top disruption in 2024 for the sixth consecutive year.
- Protests/Riots saw a 285% increase YoY, the largest increase of all risk events.
- Extreme weather jumped a dramatic 119% YoY. Flood-related alerts surged 214%, forest fires increased 88%, and hurricanes/typhoons jumped 101%.
Supply Chain Disruptions Increased in 2024
Resilinc’s 2024 supply chain data reveals a striking 38% increase in global supply chain disruptions compared to the previous year. This marks a significant departure from 2023, when disruptions grew by just 5%, indicating that supply chains were beginning to stabilize. However, the latest data underscores a renewed surge in disruptions, signaling fresh challenges for global supply networks.
The top five industries that felt the impact were Life Sciences, Healthcare, General Manufacturing, High Tech, and Automotive, marking the fourth year in a row that these particular industries have been the most impacted. Here’s a breakdown:
- High-Tech 42% increase YoY (13,945 total disruptions)
- General Manufacturing 39% increase YoY (14,014 total disruptions)
- Automotive 37% increase YoY (13,567 total disruptions)
- Healthcare 35% increase YoY (14,742 total disruptions)
- Life Sciences 30% increase YoY (14,788 total disruptions)
Where Does Resilinc’s Data Come From?
Resilinc’s data is gathered by its 24/7 global event monitoring artificial intelligence, EventWatch AI, which collects information and monitors news on 400 different types of disruptions across 104 million sources including traditional news sources, social media platforms, wire services, videos, and government reports. Annually, the AI contextualizes and analyzes nearly 5 billion data feeds across 100 languages in 200 countries, making EventWatchAI the industry’s largest, most comprehensive supply chain risk monitoring portfolio. Learn More
The Top 5 Supply Chain Disruptions of 2024
#1 Factory Fires
Factory fires maintained their position as the number one disruption for the sixth consecutive year, with 2,299 disruption alerts issued. Fortunately, this number is down 20% from the previous year and has declined 36% from the record high in 2022. This decline can be attributed to reestablishing safety protocols and enhancing regulations after the pandemic.
Despite the decrease, factory fires are still the number one disruption across all industries. Factory fires cause immediate production stoppages, leading to shortages of finished goods, delays in deliveries, and disruptions to the flow of raw materials, causing ripple effects throughout the entire supply chain network, especially when a key component or critical manufacturing facility is affected.
Incorporating a supply chain risk management program can prevent millions of dollars in losses and backlogs from factory fires. For example, by mapping your supply chain and risk scoring your suppliers, you could flag suppliers that have a higher risk of a plant fire and take preventative measures such as installing sprinklers. Learn more about Resilinc’s supplier risk scoring.
#2 Labor Disruption
Labor disruptions made it into the top five list for the second year in a row, jumping up to the second spot with a 47% year-over-year increase. Labor issues played a major role in impacting most industries in the U.S. and globally including company and site-level strikes, national strikes, labor protests, and layoffs. From the ILA U.S. port strike, impacting over 47,000 workers, and the Canadian rail strike to major layoffs at tech giants Intel, Dell, and Amazon, labor disruptions continued its streak as a key risk area for 2024.
#3 Business Sale, #4 Leadership Transition, and #5 M&As
Financial risk areas including business sales, leadership transitions, and mergers and acquisitions rounded out the top five disruptions for 2024. While business sales climbed a steady 17% YoY, leadership transitions surged 95% last year. Several notable leadership changes included:
- Boeing—(August) New CEO Robert “Kelly” Ortberg
- Nestlé—(August) New CEO Laurent Freixe
- Pfizer—(November) New Chief Scientific Officer, Roger Dansey, and new President of Research & Development, Chris Boshoff.
- Intel—(December) Retirement of CEO Pat Gelsinger
Though mergers and acquisitions saw a slight decline of 5%, it remained a top disruption for 2024. Mergers and acquisitions that made headlines in 2024 included:
- ExxonMobil’s acquisition of Pioneer ($59.9 billion)
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s acquisition of Juniper Networks ($14 billion)
- Cisco Systems’ acquisition of Splunk ($28 billion)
AI was a big driver for mergers and acquisitions in 2024. In Cisco’s press release, the company states the acquisition of Splunk has made Cisco, “uniquely poised to power, protect, and advance the AI revolution for customers.” Hewlett Packard described its acquisition of Juniper networks as a way to “accelerate AI-driven innovations.”
As companies come together to forge the new frontier of AI, it’s important to remember that M&As can lead to increased supply chain risks such as cyber security breaches and delays as suppliers shift. Learn more in our blog: How Do Mergers and Acquisitions Impact Supply Chains?
Notable Supply Chain Trends from 2024
Though the number of disruption alerts increased overall, several risk areas experienced substantial year-over-year increases, such as extreme weather, geopolitical risk, and regulatory changes.
Extreme Weather Disruptions Jumped Dramatically
Extreme weather supply chain disruptions jumped a dramatic 119%. Consistent with this trend, flood related alerts surged 214%, forest fires increased 88%, and hurricanes/typhoons jumped 101%, underscoring the growing impact of extreme weather risks. The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season—which lasted from June 1st to November 30th—was accurately predicted to be an above-average season with a grand total of 18 named storms. According to the World Meteorological Organization, this was the ninth season in a row with above-average activity. In the US, in particular, four hurricanes (including Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene) caused losses of more than one billion dollars this year.
As an example of how hurricanes and flooding can impact supply chains, Hurricane Helene affected semiconductors, solar energy, and electronics due to the temporary shutdown of High Purity Quartz mining operations in Spruce Pine, North Carolina—the world’s largest source of HPQ. Read more in our special report. As extreme weather events continue to rise, it will be critical for businesses to map their supply chains down to the sub-tier level. Then, using Resilinc’s Hurricane Simulator, businesses can identify site locations with the highest risks to hurricanes based on vulnerability and business impact and make a game plan before disruptions strike. Reach out to learn more about our Hurricane Simulator.
Geopolitical Risks and Regulatory Changes Rise
Following a dip in 2023, geopolitical risks surged in 2024, with Resilinc reporting a 123% increase. The Red Sea Crisis, which has been ongoing since October 2023, was among the most impactful events. Houthi rebel attacks forced ships to reroute, disrupting an estimated $6 billion in weekly trade flows and increasing supply chain lead times by 35%. Meanwhile, the Russia-Ukraine War and Israel-Hamas War continued to put a strain on global supply chains.
Rising US-China tensions, fueled by trade uncertainties and the strategic importance of Taiwan, further destabilized global trade. The change in U.S. administration compounded these challenges, as businesses braced for potential shifts in trade policies. Overall, regulatory change alerts, which include tariffs, changes in laws, environmental regulations, and bans continued their upward trend with a 128% YoY increase. In December, China imposed its most stringent export restrictions on gallium, germanium, and antimony—critical minerals for both military and civilian uses. Learn more about the latest bans in our special report.
Protests/riots also saw an astounding 285% YoY increase, marking the largest growth increase of all risk events tracked by Resilinc; these could stem from civil unrest in countries undergoing political changes. Other noteworthy trends highlighted in the data include a 146% rise in labor violations such as forced labor, poor working conditions, and health and safety violations.
Prepare Your Supply Chain for 2025: Stay Resilient Amid Uncertainty
In 2024, supply chain disruptions not only increased but became more impactful, as shown by the 22,522 EventWatchAI notifications issued by Resilinc. Over half of these alerts (59%) were significant enough to activate WarRooms, collaborative virtual platforms that enable customers and suppliers to assess and resolve disruptions in real time. These numbers underscore the growing urgency for businesses to proactively safeguard their supply chains against an increasingly unpredictable global landscape.
As we step into 2025, now is the time to strengthen your supply chain. With Resilinc’s sophisticated AI-powered supply chain risk management tools backed by 14+ years of data, you can gain extraordinary visibility into your supply chain, map risks down to the sub-tier level, and receive real-time insights to respond swiftly to emerging disruptions. A resilient supply chain isn’t just a necessity—it’s a competitive advantage. Contact Resilinc today to learn how we can empower your business to anticipate challenges, adapt with agility, and thrive in the year ahead!
