Supply Chain Intelligence: Church & Dwight Co. Inc.
Church & Dwight must immediately conduct scenario modeling around Strait of Hormuz disruption duration, natural gas cost volatility, and freight rate escalation; simultaneously, the company should audit supplier forced labor compliance and expedite tariff mitigation strategies to protect landed costs on imports and ensure customer pricing flexibility with Walmart, Amazon, and CVS. Port congestion and driver shortages are structural near-term constraints (not cyclical), requiring inventory buffering increases and contingency logistics partnerships to maintain service reliability to retail customers.
Get the daily brief for Church & Dwight Co. Inc., free
Personalized supply chain news, role-lensed for your team. We send the signal, you skip the noise. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
What we're seeing
Church & Dwight faces a complex convergence of supply chain headwinds across three dimensions: commodity feedstock risk, logistics cost and capacity constraints, and labor-driven compliance and operational pressures. Natural gas and LNG supply, critical inputs for soda ash-based chemical production, face sustained geopolitical risk through the Strait of Hormuz, with prolonged disruptions adding 2-3 weeks to transit times and creating 15-30% cost premiums. Concurrently, global port congestion has trapped 11% of container ship capacity, driving elevated freight rates on the company's high-exposure lanes (US Gulf Coast to distribution, Asia to US West Coast). Road freight driver shortages are constraining last-mile delivery capacity to major retail customers (Walmart, Amazon, Target, CVS, Walgreens), extending service windows and elevating trucking costs by 100-250 basis points.
S. government implementing 10%+ tariffs on most trading partners for forced labor violations and establishing a permanent DOJ prosecutorial unit for supply chain compliance. Warehouse and port labor shortages are driving logistics partners to accelerate automation investments, creating near-term service volatility and potential rate pass-through. Structurally, global supply chains are reallocating toward multi-shore and nearshoring models, which may reduce demand concentration on traditional single-region suppliers (including soda ash producers) while creating procurement portfolio reassessment urgency.
Port congestion and extended dwell times are compressing inventory buffers and increasing working capital tied up in transit. Cargo theft in European supply chains represents an emerging structural risk requiring enhanced security investment. The confluence of these factors suggests that margin compression from elevated input costs, freight rates, and compliance burden will persist through 2026, necessitating proactive pricing strategy alignment with customers and accelerated supply base diversification away from single-point dependencies.
Current themes
Most relevant for
- CFO
- VP Procurement
- vp_supply_chain
- chief_compliance_officer
- VP Operations
- director_logistics
Recent news affecting Church & Dwight Co. Inc.
Strait of Hormuz Crisis: 9 Commodities Face Supply Chain Risk
The Strait of Hormuz represents one of the world's most critical maritime chokepoints, handling approximately one-third of global seaborne traded oil. Beyond petroleum, escalating geopolitical tensions in this region threaten the flow of nine major commodity categories that underpin global supply chains—from liquified natural gas and refined products to metals, chemicals, and agricultural goods. This crisis extends far beyond energy markets, creating cascading risks across manufacturing, consumer goods, and industrial sectors worldwide. For supply chain professionals, the Strait of Hormuz crisis represents a structural vulnerability that cannot be hedged away through routine mitigation. A prolonged disruption or closure would force immediate rerouting through longer maritime passages (adding 2-3 weeks to transit times), inventory depletion at destination ports, and severe price volatility across multiple commodities simultaneously. Companies reliant on just-in-time delivery from Asia or dependent on Middle Eastern feedstock inputs face particular exposure. The strategic implication is clear: supply chain resilience now demands explicit geopolitical risk mapping and pre-planned contingency protocols. Organizations should conduct scenario modeling around partial or total Strait closure, diversify sourcing away from single-point dependency, and build strategic inventory buffers for critical inputs. The cost of preparation is substantially lower than the cost of being caught flat-footed during an actual disruption.
Strait of Hormuz Port Crisis: Congestion & Surcharges Impact 2026
The Strait of Hormuz faces mounting operational challenges in 2026, with port congestion driving unexpected surcharges across major shipping routes. This critical chokepoint, through which approximately 21% of global seaborne crude oil and liquefied natural gas transits, is experiencing capacity constraints amplified by geopolitical tensions and increased security protocols. Supply chain professionals must anticipate elevated freight rates, extended transit windows, and route diversification pressures as alternative pathways become economically necessary. The crisis reflects a convergence of structural and temporary factors: heightened security measures, seasonal demand peaks, and vessel diversions due to regional instability all compress available port capacity. Shippers relying on just-in-time inventory models or time-sensitive commodities face material risk exposure. Organizations should model worst-case scenarios involving 15-30% cost premiums on Middle Eastern trade lanes and prepare contingency sourcing strategies to mitigate single-point-of-failure exposure at this vital maritime corridor. This situation underscores the fragility of global trade architecture when critical infrastructure becomes contested geopolitical space. Forward-thinking supply chain leaders are re-evaluating supplier portfolios, investing in alternative logistics partners, and building strategic inventory buffers for goods transiting the region. The 2026 outlook suggests sustained volatility rather than resolution, making proactive risk management essential.
Indirect signals
News that affects this company through its suppliers, customers, inputs, or regulators, reasoning visible on each claim.
- Strongvia natural gas
Strong.Natural gas and LNG flows through the Strait of Hormuz face sustained geopolitical risk, with approximately 20-30% of global seaborne LNG transiting this chokepoint daily amid security tensions and port congestion.
Church & Dwight sources natural gas (high exposure per SupplyContext) for chemical production and manufacturing. Disruption or rerouting through Hormuz adds 2-3 weeks to transit times and drives 15-30% cost premiums on Middle Eastern supply lanes, directly impacting feedstock costs for soda ash-based products.
Estimated impact↑ 150–300 bps over fiscal year - Strongvia freight and logistics
Strong.Global port congestion has trapped 11% of global container ship capacity in queue, driving elevated freight rates across major trade lanes and extending container dwell times.
Church & Dwight relies on container freight (high-exposure per SupplyContext lane US-Gulf Coast to US distribution, Asia to US West Coast) for finished goods distribution to retail. Congestion translates directly to elevated inbound and outbound freight costs and potential service delays to Walmart, Amazon, Target, CVS, and Walgreens.
Get the daily brief for Church & Dwight Co. Inc., free
Personalized supply chain news, role-lensed for your team. We send the signal, you skip the noise. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.