If you dealt with the supply chain at all in 2025, you’d probably agree that it feels like one heart-pounding event after another.
This year tested the supply chain in new ways, making us more resilient, creative, and bold. It also made us wiser, more cautious, and better prepared for whatever surprises come next.
“This has been a challenging year for a lot of people,” Kris-Tech’s Director of Supply Chain, Marcus Tagliaferri, said. “Not only are we managing through new tariffs, but we’re also trying to plan through all the uncertainty surrounding the ongoing trade talks and constantly monitoring new and possible changes to existing tariffs.”
As this year slips into the rearview, we turn our attention to 2026 and what it might have in store. One thing is certain, though—the supply chain is constantly reinventing itself, and nobody has all the answers.
But with that in mind, let’s explore nine of the most impactful supply chain trends we expect to see in 2026!
Tariffs, port fees, and critical minerals–oh my!
China and the United States were seemingly at odds throughout the year, and the two superpowers haven’t seen eye-to-eye.
However, a late-October agreement has introduced shaky optimism to the situation. During recent talks, the two nations agreed to several conditions, including tariff reductions, a pause on port fees, and a reduction of export controls on rare earths and critical minerals.
Does this make 2026 less bumpy for supply chain managers? Maybe, but global trade is tricky. We’ve seen how quickly trade deals can fall apart. The two nations share a tense relationship, and one wrong move could torpedo any deal and reignite a trade war.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) earned praise after adding copper to its Critical Minerals List this year, but how does it affect the supply chain?
Making copper a critical mineral opens the door for new investments, mining opportunities, and strategic stockpiling. And, quite frankly, the move could not have come soon enough for the industry.
Data centers, green energy, and new technologies are increasing copper demand in the U.S. and globally. Production is growing more slowly than consumption, leaving experts to believe we could potentially experience shortages. Those shortages may increase volatility, raise prices, and stunt technological development. High demand could also impact national security, as many military products rely on the metal.
Rare earths are also a concern, and the U.S. wants to protect its supply chain. However, it means working closely with China, which has tight control over most rare earth processing and refining.
China has placed restrictions on several rare earths, but eased them in recent months. However, tensions remain high, so take those moves with a grain of salt.
Although most tariff talk centers around the U.S. and China, President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs impacted many countries.
Since the announcement, the timeline has been tough to track. A 10% baseline tariff launched soon after, but the administration delayed country-specific tariffs until August. The sweeping tariffs led to several trade deals but also generated multiple lawsuits challenging Trump’s authority to issue them. And just when you thought the situation couldn’t get more confusing, the Supreme Court is weighing in and could potentially kill many of them.
No matter how you slice it, tariffs are still taxes paid by the importing country. Those costs affect the supply chain and ultimately trickle down to consumers, who pay higher prices.
“Going into next year, we believe that uncertainty will remain around tariffs,” Tagliaferri said. “But using some classic supply chain strategies like diversification, material alternatives, and safety stock inventory can help reduce the risk and nervousness those trade agreement talks can cause.”
Developing a network of partners is only one way manufacturers, distributors, and retailers can protect their supply chains. To keep up in 2026, companies must continue nurturing and forming relationships everywhere.
Companies should regularly evaluate and test their supply chains to find issues. If they find gaps, they should invest in improving reliability, resilience, and speed.
Thankfully, new partners come in all shapes and sizes. Whether you’re finding domestic partners to shorten supply lines or companies in trade-friendly countries to reduce costs, interactions matter. Maintain strong ties and open communication lines to immediately address risks and pivot if necessary.
Supply chain diversity also involves investing in new technology, developing strategic risk management plans, and reacting to conditions. Each is designed to increase supply chain reliability while reducing disruptions.
Companies that sit still may develop weak links and fail points.
While we’re building a more diverse supply chain, let’s also focus on creating a more circular one, too.
But what is a circular supply chain, and why are more companies adopting them? Think of it like a supercharged recycling program, but for new and used products and materials.
Traditional recycling programs focus on the three R’s—reduce, reuse, and recycle. Circular supply chains, meanwhile, focus on the entire manufacturing, sales, and use process. They expand beyond the three R’s, adding rethinking/redesigning, repair, refurbishing, and recovering to the mix.
Circular supply chains introduce sustainability and green practices throughout the product’s lifespan. As a result, products last longer, are more sustainable, and are easier to recover critical materials from.
These practices result in lower raw material and waste costs, higher efficiency, and better protection against market volatility—especially for expensive or rare materials.
This wouldn’t be a 2026 trends list if we didn’t address the gigantic AI elephant in the room.
Artificial intelligence has infiltrated nearly every facet of society, helping us create everything from fever-dream videos to business plans. In the supply chain, AI’s ability to analyze and synthesize datasets quickly helps us make better decisions more easily.
Today’s AI makes quick work of demand forecasting, risk mitigation, logistics, and operations, giving supply chain managers more confidence. If the data is accurate and well-maintained, companies can make better decisions, reduce risk and improve profitability.
Keep in mind, feeding AI systems accurate data and information is critical. Bad input = bad output.
Sticking to the topic of technology, let’s skip over from computerized brains to mechanized brawn.
Companies, especially manufacturers, are turning to robots and automation to fill empty positions. Despite billions of dollars in manufacturing investments and offering high-paying jobs, companies struggle to find workers. Worse yet, some experts believe the 415,000 open manufacturing jobs in June 2025 could balloon to nearly 4 million by 2033.
Why can’t manufacturers fill open positions? As it turns out, several distinct issues combine to cause problems. For example, manufacturing has a stigma that the jobs are low-skill, low-paying, and dirty, limiting applicants. Unfortunately, the jobs manufacturers need people for may require specialized skills, which can be hard to find.
Robots are different. They don’t need breaks, perform routine tasks indefinitely, act predictably, and move quickly. Because of this, some companies have jumped in feet first to install them throughout their facilities.
We do see one problem with the plan, however. Despite being autonomous, robots still require people to install, maintain, and repair them when they malfunction. Those jobs are highly specialized, hard to hire for, and often come at a high cost.
But with a large hiring gap and few options, expect automation backed by AI to become the talk of 2026.
Sure, it’s tough to hire right now, but that hasn’t stopped manufacturing facilities from opening.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the number of manufacturing establishments has reached early 2000s levels. However, those facilities are employing 4 million fewer people.
What’s in the American manufacturing sector’s secret sauce? Although fewer people work in manufacturing, advanced robotics and automation technology keep production humming. Add in a dash of geopolitical tension alongside federal and private investment, and you have a renaissance.
The situation isn’t perfect, but the manufacturing industry is resilient. Reshoring manufacturing in critical industries creates shorter supply chains for companies, reducing risk and shortening timelines. Those companies also carry a multiplier effect that converts $1 spent on manufacturing into $2.69 for the economy.
We’re not saying manufacturing will grow exponentially, but the industry is looking better now than in previous years.
This isn’t so much a trend as a warning, but electricity use is rising again.
No one should be surprised, especially given the constant, steady rise in prices since 2020. Bureau of Labor Statistics data suggests electricity prices rose about 40% since February 2020.
But what’s causing electricity prices to spike? Part of the issue is the rapidly rising demand caused by AI and the data centers that support it. AI needs a LOT of energy for its work, driving up demand.
The other issue at play is the changing energy landscape. In recent years, dirty energy producers like coal have shuttered plants while renewables have taken their place. However, new power generation is struggling to keep pace with demand. Other issues making life tough include a sometimes-unreliable electrical grid and higher natural gas costs.
Large-scale companies are weathering the price hikes more easily than consumers by making deals with utilities, including long-term power purchase agreements. In other cases, companies like Meta and Apple have invested heavily in renewable energy. Moves like this keep prices low for them while minimizing their pollution impact.
From green supply chains and advancing technology to rising electricity costs and global market tension, 2026 should be interesting.
Even though it feels like the world is changing quickly, most of what we’re seeing has been on the radar for years. Good business strategies and strong supply chains don’t fall apart overnight, but they also don’t form that fast, either.
“Stress testing your supply chain through regularly simulating different scenarios helps identify risks,” Tagliaferri explained. “Then you can build contingency plans to mitigate those risks.”
The industry stands at an interesting crossroads, where technology, sustainability, and business meet. Although we have an idea of what to expect, it’s up to us to create high quality supply chains when possible. This means building the right relationships, staying on top of trends and data, and constantly staying mindful of the bottom line.