The Strait of Hormuz doesn’t need to stay closed for long to rattle the entire world economy. When that corridor tightens, we feel it fast in oil and LNG supply, fertilizer availability, freight capacity, and the everyday cost of living. I connect the dots between military action involving Iran, disrupted regional infrastructure, and the real-world supply chain delays that show up as higher prices at the pump, at the store, and inside factory cost sheets.

We also put numbers around something that’s usually left as a shrug: what modern war actually costs. Using clear cost categories, I walk through direct strike operations, high-value munitions, equipment losses, force protection, and the long tail of stockpile replenishment and industrial base strain. The estimate lands around $25 billion to $45 billion over roughly 91 days, and I explain why the burden is so hard to track across defense budgets and why that opacity matters for strategy and accountability.

From there, the business news roundup widens the lens: drone warfare and AI-enabled targeting, policy pressure points in the UK economy, a brewing constraint in Group III base oils affecting automakers, and the shift from low-cost networks to risk-adjusted supply chain design. We also cover how shipping liability is changing after the Francis Scott Key Bridge case, plus new data pointing to a world of frequent maritime disruptions, longer routings, and rising insurance and compliance costs.

If you care about global trade, maritime logistics, energy security, or supply chain resilience, hit play, subscribe, and share this with a colleague. After you listen, what single chokepoint do you think is most likely to trigger the next wave of inflation?

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About Tony Hines and the Chain Reaction Podcast – All About Supply Chain Advantage
I have been researching and writing about supply chains for over 25 years. I wrote my first book on supply chain strategies in the early 2000s. The latest edition is published in 2024 available from Routledge, Amazon and all good book stores. Each week we have special episodes on particular topics relating to supply chains. We have a weekly news round up every Saturday at 12 noon. ...