Alex Hadwick

By on Air freight rates soar, especially in the Middle East and South Asia, which face the biggest cuts to capacity Shipping air freight out of Dubai is 160% more expensive than last year according to the WorldACD Weekly Air Cargo Trends, with this sharp rise coming amidst more expensive air freight rates globally, while global capacity is down compared to before hostilities in the Middle East erupted.

The need to know for the week starting May 4 2026 World Bank forecasts 24% surge in energy prices in 2026 due to Middle East war Energy prices are expected to surge by 24% in 2026 to their highest level since Russia’s ​full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago, if the most acute disruptions caused by the war in the Middle ‌East end in May, the World Bank said on Tuesday.

Retailers lose 5% of revenues to delays in responding to demand, while 38% of supply chain leaders report that they require more than a week to formulate and build a response to geopolitical shifts Supply chain response times are costing businesses say two new industry surveys, with supply chain functions struggling to rapidly deploy responses to economic and geopolitical challenges, and retailers incurring an average 5% hit to their revenues due to being unable to respond to changes in demand.