Businesses concerns about tariffs caused an uptick in the risk assessment to supply chains at the beginning of the year when compared to Q4 2024, according to The Lehigh Business Supply Chain Risk Management Index (LRMI).
LRMI collects survey data each quarter to gauge whether businesses expect supply chain risks to increase (≥ 51), remain the same (50), or decrease (≤ 49) in the upcoming quarter. The average dropped from 67.48 in Q4 to 66.18 for Q1. The index for “Supplier Risk” jumped in the quarter, however, from 67.05 to 74.16.
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“Some raw materials are sourced outside the U.S. and may be subject to unknown tariff decisions. I don't feel there will be checks and balances to rein in hasty decisions,” writes one respondent.
Tariffs aside, a new administration signaled a slight improvement in the index for “Government Intervention Risk.”
“Risk will decrease due to expected deregulation under the new administration,” writes one respondent. Another writes, “We expect an increase in risk as the impact of promised tariff policy changes could be significant. Potential deportation and immigration policy changes could further impact the overall labor shortage.”
The article referenced in this story originally ran as “Businesses are Less Worried About Their Supply Chains in Q1, but Concerns Remain” on IndustryWeek.com, an Endeavor Business Media sibling site.
About the Author
Rod Sutton
Sutton served as the editorial lead of Construction Equipment from 2001 through 2025.