In this episode of The Decisive podcast, host Kristen Hallam shares highlights from a recent S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence client webinar on the forces reshaping procurement strategy. The conversation explores how prolonged disruption in the Middle East is moving beyond energy markets and into broader supply chains, affecting shipping, chemicals, metals and industrial inputs. S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence experts Emily Crowley, Gregory Muller and Maxwell Clarke examine why oil prices may stay higher for longer, why LNG markets are unlikely to repeat the extremes of 2022, and how AI-driven data center expansion is tightening capacity for transformers, electrical equipment, cooling systems and related components. This episode is designed for procurement professionals, supply chain leaders, corporate strategists, market intelligence teams and anyone tracking how geopolitical disruption, energy markets and AI investment are reshaping industrial input costs and equipment availability. What listeners will learn Why procurement teams may not see meaningful price relief even as demand softens in parts of the economy How inventory dynamics, shipping disruption and tariff uncertainty are shaping supplier behavior Why data center construction is creating sustained pressure on electrical and cooling equipment markets How companies can think about risk mitigation, contract management and inventory strategy in a constrained supply environment More S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence Content: Commodity Price Watch: June 2026 US retailers forecast early — and brief — peak shipping season Picture This: Mexico&#x27;s Avocado Exporters Look Beyond US Market For S&amp;P Global subscribers (login required): Commodity Price Watch Monthly (full report) Key takeaways from April 2026 Pricing and Purchasing seminar briefings Credits: Host: Emily Crowley Guests: Gregory Muller, Maxwell Clarke Produced By: Debbie Taylor, Kristen Hallam Edited By: Marz Marcello Published With Assistance From: Sophie Carr, Feranmi Adeoshun

Uneven Demand, Tight Supply: Navigating the Next Procurement Challenge

The Decisive Podcast: Insights and analysis to empower confident decision-making.

# Full Transcript

**Podcast:** The Decisive Podcast: Insights and analysis to empower confident decision-making.

## Transcript

You're listening to The Decisive Podcast, Insights and analysis to empower confident decision-making. Hello and welcome to The Decisive. I'm Kristen Hallam, your usual host. Today's episode is adapted from a June 11th client webinar titled Persistent Disruption, Uneven Demand, What Procurement Teams Need to Navigate Next. The discussion brings together the following experts from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Emily Crowley, who discusses the macroeconomic and procurement outlook, Gregory Muller on energy markets, and Michael Zdinak on the impact of AI and data center expansion on capital equipment. Our experts look at how disruption in the Middle East is moving beyond energy markets and into broader supply chains, affecting shipping, chemicals, metals, and industrial inputs. They also examine the impact of energy markets and into broader supply chains, affecting shipping, chemicals, metals, and industrial inputs.

We also examine why software demand does not necessarily mean meaningful price relief, especially as AI investment and data center build-outs continue to crowd out capacity in equipment markets. You'll hear why oil prices may stay higher for longer, why LNG risk looks different from the 2022 energy crisis, and how data center demand is extending lead times for transformers and electrical equipment. For procurement teams,

and corporate strategists alike, and corporate strategists alike, the message is clear. This is a volatile environment where availability, risk mitigation, and active contract management matter as much as headline price moves. Let's get into the conversation now. The title of today's presentation is Persistent Disruption, Uneven Demand, What Procurement Teams Needs to Navigate Next, and it certainly has been a tumultuous past three months. With that, I'll jump into our macroeconomic outlook.

What I've pulled here is our MPI. This is our basket of material prices used by heavy manufacturing. This is going to include everything from raw materials like your non-farious metals, steel, transportation costs, drams, etc., etc. It's a very broad-based measure of industrial inputs.

And it tracks costs, so it's an index of space to 2002. And what I've done here is I've compared this in comparison of our Q1 forecast. So we've seen this significant upgrade. Initially, in our April forecast, we had a bit of a spike-retreat scenario with the expectation that the crisis in the Middle East would be short-lived, and we would be seeing a reopening of the straight-ohor moves relatively quickly.

And the key change here that Greg will be talking a little bit about more is that's no longer the case, and we're expecting to see a prolonged closure or effective closure. One thing I'll highlight here is that this is actually the MPI excluding energy. So one of the features of the crisis in the Middle East, essen...

Uneven Demand, Tight Supply: Navigating the Next Procurement Challenge

Transcript

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Every day you wait, your competitors are finding
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Uneven Demand, Tight Supply: Navigating the Next Procurement Challenge

Transcript

Built for investment professionals

Every day you wait, your competitors are findingedge in conversations you're not hearing.

Every day you wait, your competitors are finding
edge in conversations you're not hearing.