The total number of disruptive events was up 30 percent to 1,699, compared to 1,306 in 2016, according to the Automotive Supply Chain Disruption report by insurance firm JLT Specialty and data firm Resilinc.
Fires and explosions were the largest cause of disruptions, with 318 incidents in 2017, up from 116 the previous year. This was followed by mergers and acquisitions (247), hurricanes and typhoons (116), business sales (111) and labour strikes (110).
The number of cyberattacks on suppliers doubled in 2017 to 12. The report said that while this is still a relatively low number, the “rapid pace of change” and the development of more connected vehicles mean the risks will increase. “Visibility over what security suppliers have in place is vital — but extremely hard to achieve, especially further down the chain,” it said.
In total, supply chain disruptions in the sector affected 5,585 suppliers across 10,809 sites in 2017.
