The UK remains highly exposed to disruption across global shipping routes. According to the Department for Transport, around 85 percent of the UK’s international freight by weight and around 55 percent by value was moved by sea in 2024. That means any prolonged disruption affecting major maritime corridors can still have a significant knock-on effect for British businesses, particularly those reliant on imported materials, components, and finished goods.
Recent events have underlined how quickly those risks can escalate. Office for National Statistics analysis found that UK-bound container ships were rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope in 2024 because of insecurity in the Red Sea, increasing transit times by several weeks. UN Trade and Development has also warned that disruption across the Red Sea, Suez Canal and Panama Canal has raised costs and placed further pressure on global supply chains.
“The challenge for businesses is that supply chain disruption is no longer a one-off event that can be treated as exceptional,” said Richard Gray, Chief Commercial Officer at Cleveland Containers.
“Volatility across trade routes is becoming a more regular operating condition, and that changes how businesses need to think about stock, space and contingency planning.”
Here, Cleveland Containers, a leading supplier of shipping containers, share their insights on where the UK could be most exposed to the next major trade shock and how businesses are adapting.
The Sectors Most Vulnerable to Trade Disruption
The sectors most exposed to disruption are typically those that depend on imported goods or internationally sourced inputs. Construction is a clear example. 2025 Government data shows that 60.2 percent of UK construction material imports came from the EU, underlining how delays or restrictions affecting major trade routes can quickly feed into project costs, delivery schedules and material availability.
Manufacturing also remains sensitive to trade disruption because of its reliance on imported machinery, transport equipment and material manufactures. The latest ONS trade bulletin shows how movements in those categories continue to shape monthly UK import and export performance, particularly across EU and non-EU markets. Retail and food-related supply chains also face pressure when overseas shipments are delayed, especially where stock cycles are tight and replenishment windows are short.
“Businesses tend to think about disruption in terms of whether goods arrive on time, but the real issue is what sits behind that,” said Gray. “If one delayed shipment affects production, fulfilment or a scheduled build programme, the commercial impact can spread very quickly.”
The Ongoing Impact of Route Disruption
Strengthening supply chain resilience has become an increasing focus for government policy in recent years, including through the UK’s Critical Imports and Supply Chains Strategy, which expects government and business to work together to strengthen supply chains and reduce vulnerability. That reflects a wider recognition that efficiency on its own is no longer enough when key trade routes can come under pressure from geopolitical conflict, climate events or infrastructure constraints.
For UK firms, the issue is not just where disruption happens, but how little time there is to react once it does. When ships are rerouted, transit times lengthen and planning becomes more difficult, leaving businesses with less flexibility and higher exposure to delays further down the chain.
This is especially important for firms that still operate on lean inventory models. While just-in-time supply chains helped reduce storage costs for many years, resilience planning is increasingly pushing businesses to reconsider how much stock they hold and where they hold it.
International bodies such as the OECD and World Economic Forum have both highlighted the growing importance of balancing efficiency with preparedness as disruption becomes more frequent.
How Businesses Are Adapting
In response to ongoing uncertainty, businesses are investing in measures designed to improve supply chain resilience. This includes diversifying sourcing strategies, nearshoring production where possible, and adopting digital tools to improve visibility across supply networks.
Storage is also becoming a more important consideration. Rather than relying solely on centralised warehousing, some businesses are exploring more flexible, on-site options that allow them to hold additional stock without committing to long-term infrastructure investment.
For example, using scalable storage solutions such as a 20ft container can provide businesses with the ability to increase capacity quickly in response to disruption, helping to reduce reliance on tightly timed deliveries.
“What we are seeing is a move towards practical resilience,” said Gray. “Businesses are asking how they can create a bit more breathing room in their operations, whether that is through extra stockholding, more flexible storage, or a supply chain model that is less exposed to one single point of failure.”
Planning for the Next Major Trade Shock
While it is difficult to predict exactly where the next major trade shock will originate, the pattern of recent disruption suggests that volatility is likely to remain a constant feature of global logistics.
For UK businesses, preparation increasingly comes down to understanding exposure and building in safeguards before disruption occurs. This means analysing supply chain dependencies, stress-testing operations, and investing in systems and infrastructure that can absorb delays when they arise.
“The businesses that will handle future disruption best are the ones planning for it now,” said Gray. “It’s not about eliminating risk entirely, but about making sure that when something does go wrong, it doesn’t bring operations to a halt.”
