the first resilience360 annual risk report examines the major supply chain risks that companies experienced in 2018. the world’s top three risks were uncertainties concerning trade flows, cyber security incidents, and climate change paired with extreme weather conditions. uncertainty in trade increased due to disputes between the us and other countries, in particular china, including new unilateral import tariffs. the still-open question of the uk’s withdrawal from the eu is also contributing to uncertainty, as companies fear border congestions and delays at ports in the event of a disorderly departure. in the realm of cyber security, a rising number of incidents involving supply chain and transport infrastructure showed how actors are intent on obtaining trade secrets, engaging in blackmail, or causing economic disruption. lastly, climate change presented a myriad of severe weather-related disruptions in 2018, which was the 4th warmest year on record. wildfires, droughts, low water levels and melting ice had the most significant impacts on supply chains.
in europe, resilience360 recorded the most incidents in germany and the united kingdom. two-thirds of high-impact events were caused by cargo theft, industrial fires and explosions, and train accidents. however, the distribution of incidents across europe was more even than in other regions. air and ground transportation incidents represented the majority of incidents with 44.7%. such events are especially relevant for supply chains, as seen by the disruption of railway traffic on key rail corridors for more than two weeks that resulted from two train accidents. civil unrest accounted for the second-highest portion of events at 12.9%. protests related to labor day (may 1) and the yellow vests in france and belgium disrupted highways, ports, border crossings and access roads to industrial areas. weather events also posed problems for supply chains. a month-long drought in summer and autumn resulted in record-low levels of water on the rhine river. the water levels inhibited shipping traffic, and chemical and steel makers in germany, france and the netherlands were compelled to declare force majeure on deliveries. natural disasters affected countries across europe as well. in october, greece was struck by an earthquake near zakynthos island, while italy, spain, france, and the united kingdom experienced heavy floods.
