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Agriculture traders rushed to adjust positions with the escalating conflict in Iran threatening to disrupt supply chains from corn and soybean meal to fertilizer and sugar.

Some carriers are canceling bookings temporarily, skipping some port calls, warning of delays and implementing surcharges to transport containers through the conflict zone. 

While operating in a soft freight market that has been squeezing margins, carriers of all sizes have been relying on fuel cards for savings at the pump and tighter control over fuel spending.

Chicago’s Interstate 294 at I‑290/I‑88 has been named the nation’s top freight bottleneck in 2026, according to a new analysis from the American Transportation Research Institute.

“It’s the rockets and feathers effect,” said Christopher Knittel, professor of energy economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “When things are going up — they go up fast.”

“One of the things in this industry is that there’s always uncertainties,” Krista Swanson, chief economist at the National Corn Growers Association, said in an interview.

The most immediate impact from the escalating Middle East conflict is through market reaction as investors take flight to safe havens such as the dollar and gold, while stocks slump.

Not only are the capital expenditures eating into Amazon’s free cash flow, but market pros are growing impatient about when they’ll pay off in dramatic fashion. 

Runaway freight is one of the most tangible market responses to a conflict that began on Feb. 28 and culminated with the vital Strait of Hormuz choke point all-but closing to tanker traffic.

Tommy Valenzuela, director of recruiting at Los Alamitos, Calif.-based Hansen & Adkins Auto Transport, was named the 2025 Transport Topics Recruiting Professional of the Year.