But it\u2019s not just consumers feeling the impact. Promo companies, too, could start to see an impact on business operations. Counselor spoke with suppliers across the industry to understand how the conflict in the Middle East is impacting promo \u2013 from the rising cost of goods like plastic and polyester to looming surcharges on freight and last-mile delivery.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe price of fuel is a potential disruptor for sure,\u201d says Brandon Mackay,<\/a> the president and CEO of Counselor Top 40 supplier SnugZ<\/a> (asi\/88060) and a member of Counselor\u2019s Power 50 list of most influential people in promo. \u201cI think [the rising costs] are going to be isolated to freight and LTL. Those are things that we can moderately absorb for a time being.\u201d<\/p>\n $3.98 Less than a month ago, Israel and the United States launched air strikes across Iran, killing the nation\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In response to these missile strikes, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued warnings to vessels that prohibited ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, thereby halting all traffic and oil experts from Gulf States from traveling through the waterway. The Strait of Hormuz is responsible for routing nearly 25% of the world\u2019s oil supply.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first time Iran threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, but up until now, the nation had never followed through.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Strait [of Hormuz] is closed. If anyone tries to pass, the heroes of the Revolutionary Guards and the regular navy will set those ships ablaze,\u201d said<\/a> a senior adviser to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on March 2.<\/p>\n The announcement sent global oil markets into chaos, fueling a rise in prices across the U.S. and the world.<\/p>\n But it doesn\u2019t end there: Last week, Iran carried out a retaliatory missile strike on Ras Laffan, an energy complex in Qatar that produces approximately 20% of the world\u2019s liquified natural gas (LNG), which is used to power factories and facilities around the globe.<\/p>\n \u201c[Iran] has moved from stopping transit, which is a temporary measure, to attacking infrastructure, which has long-term effects,\u201d David Goldwyn, a former U.S. diplomat and Energy Department official told The New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n Even if the war ends tomorrow, it could take up to five years to build this facility back up to where it was before the attack.<\/p>\n \u201cQatar is not immediately going to be able to repair and start producing LNG again,\u201d Patricia Cohen, global economics correspondent for the New York Times, said on The Daily podcast.<\/a><\/p>\n Implications for Delivery & Logistics<\/p>\n What does the war in Iran have to do with promo? As it turns out, quite a lot.<\/p>\n First, consider the mileage required to source and transport materials required to assemble a product. If gas prices continue to rise, suppliers may begin to see some added charges to freight and trucking costs.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the first thing we\u2019re going to start seeing in the coming weeks is transit price increases,\u201d says Jackson Burnett, president of Hanahan, SC-based Vapor Apparel (asi\/93396), which witnessed a barrage of transit cost increases in the months following the COVID-19 pandemic. \u201cWe\u2019ve run this drill before.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, a similar pattern has emerged: UPS slapped a series of fuel surcharges onto its existing cost as a result of rising gas prices, and shipping giant Maersk announced<\/a> a weekly cost adjustment based on average fuel costs as reported by the Department of Energy.<\/p>\n Depending on how long the conflict in the Middle East lasts, experts say more transportation and logistics companies could follow suit.<\/p>\n \u201cWe expect more such announcements until oil prices cool meaningfully from four-year highs,\u201d Raymond James Investment Strategy Analyst Pavel Molchanov told USA Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s one reason Joel Freet, CEO of Counselor Top 40 supplier Cutter & Buck<\/a> (asi\/47965) believes in the power of planning ahead. The Renton, WA-headquartered apparel supplier, which operates half of its business in retail and the other half in promo, hasn\u2019t noticed a significant promo impact, but some areas of its retail business have taken a minor hit. That\u2019s because, he says, consumers are spending less than they once did.<\/p>\n \u201cRetail seems to be a bit more sensitive to consumer spending than promo,\u201d Freet says. \u201cPromo remains strong, but we\u2019ll be keeping a close eye on everything.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the last several years, Cutter & Buck has taken steps to increase efficiency across the supply chain, which Freet says will help them weather any storms that may come their way as a result of fluctuations in fuel pricing. In January, the supplier announced<\/a> plans to open a new distribution center in Dallas, TX, bringing goods closer to customers.<\/p>\n \u201cThis will help relieve freight zone charges, and the network will provide lower transportation costs overall,\u201d said Freet. \u201cWe can\u2019t do much about the overall high fuel prices, but we\u2019re working to absorb those things with shorter freight coverage.\u201d<\/p>\n Freet added that there\u2019s an added benefit to these freight efficiencies: sustainability.<\/p>\n \u201cFreight consolidation isn\u2019t just good for your pocketbook; it\u2019s good for the planet, as well,\u201d he says. \u201cSure, it does take time to say, \u2018Hey, let\u2019s share a ride. Let\u2019s consolidate a freight,\u2019 but doing so saves on emissions and it also saves dollars in the supply chain.\u201d<\/p>\n But it\u2019s not just ground transportation that is impacted by the rising cost of fuel. Dilip Bhavnani, COO of Counselor Top 40 supplier Sunscope<\/a> (asi\/90075) says air freight costs have doubled over the last few weeks in Bangladesh, where the supplier does a lot of its shipping. He\u2019s also witnessed an increase in sea freight since the start of the war in Iran.<\/p>\n And then, of course, there\u2019s the shortened supply of LNG, which powers many of the facilities in Asia that the promo industry relies on to produce its goods. This is also an area that could be a boon for sustainability. As the LNG supply decreases and the price of this resource increases, some factories and facilities could begin turning to alternative energy sources.<\/p>\n \u201cThese crises regularly occur,\u201d James Bowen of the Australia-based consultancy, ReMap Research told U.S. News & World Report<\/a>. \u201cThey are a feature, not a bug, of a fossil fuel-based energy system.\u201d<\/p>\n Bhavnani has heard rumblings about the potential impacts of a LNG shortage on countries in Asia, though he hasn\u2019t seen an impact just yet.<\/p>\n But when he looks at what\u2019s happening to consumers in places like India and Bangladesh, he says it\u2019s a stark foreshadowing of what\u2019s to come.<\/p>\n \u201cRestaurants and hotels are shutting down, and many buildings in these countries rely on old infrastructure, which means they cook using propane gas,\u201d he explains. \u201cWith the fuel shortage, this means the people who are working in these factories are going hungry, which also impacts productivity. We need to make sure the workers in our factories are well looked after.\u201d<\/p>\n Material Cost Changes<\/p>\n It\u2019s not simply transportation and factory electricity that could take a hit due to the war in Iran. If fuel costs continue to spike, it could become harder and more expensive to make promo products that depend on plastic, such as water bottles, packaging and even apparel.<\/p>\n 60% According to a report<\/a> from sustainable apparel nonprofit Fibershed, more than 60% of garments being sold today rely on polyester, a plastic-based synthetic textile. Polyester is derived from petroleum, which means that when gas prices rise, so do fabric costs.<\/p>\n The price of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the resin used in fiber and containers for liquids and food, spiked 3 cents per pound, according to PlasticsToday.<\/a><\/p>\n These price increases could present some challenges for apparel suppliers like Vapor Apparel, which focuses on sublimation. \u201cAll of our products are polyester or polyester-spandex blends or just poly-rich,\u201d explains Burnett, who also began his career at a large polyester yarn provider.<\/p>\n He added that when PET prices are up, orders slow down. \u201cPeople are saying, \u2018We\u2019re just not going to buy right now and we\u2019re going to hope for a swift conclusion to the conflict [in Iran],\u201d he says. \u201cThat means that feeder stock and PET inventory levels are probably going to go up because they\u2019re getting fewer orders.\u201d<\/p>\n He noted, however, that in many ways, it\u2019s too early to tell what the true impact on promo will be. \u201cThis conflict is three weeks old, so it\u2019s very much a blip right now,\u201d he adds. \u201cBut if this continues and inventory starts to get low, people are going to have to buy at that higher price. As an apparel manufacturer, our mills buy polyester fabric and yarn, so I\u2019d expect we\u2019ll start seeing these price increases in 60 to 90 days.\u201d<\/p>\n Bhavnani, on the other hand, is already seeing price increases on raw materials.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you consider apparel, bags and socks in the promo industry, those all rely on oil and gas,\u201d he says. \u201cThis conflict has impacted more than 40% of our purchasing.\u201d<\/p>\n Burnett added that many of Vapor\u2019s factories aren\u2019t even trying to buy fabric right now. \u201cThey\u2019re not even asking to buy at this moment because if you ask right now, you\u2019re going to get quoted at a high price,\u201d he explains. \u201cEveryone\u2019s just eating through their current inventory waiting for the conflict to get resolved.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite some of these headaches, Vapor Apparel doesn\u2019t plan to increase prices \u2013 at least not yet. \u201cFor this year, we had orders placed by August and September. The stuff that\u2019s in our inventory and on the sewing floor right now was ordered back in 2025. But if this is still unresolved by midsummer, that\u2019s going to have a big impact on prices for 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n Mackay encourages distributors to get their orders in ahead of time during this era of uncertainty. \u201cIf you have something that\u2019s incredibly price sensitive, you need to get those things in sooner than later,\u201d he advises. \u201cIt\u2019s just like in the traditional consumer world \u2026 you\u2019ve got to get out there and get your foot in the door and you\u2019ve got to buy goods ahead of the curve. The same goes for promo.\u201d<\/p>\n From the Counselor Archives: Suppliers Have Been Down This Road Before<\/p>\n The impact of fuel costs on promo is not a new phenomenon. In fact, suppliers experienced something very similar in 1973 during the Arab Oil Embargo, which triggered a nationwide fuel shortage across America. Nixon announced several energy conservation efforts<\/a> during a 14-minute televised address to the nation, where he asked consumers and industry leaders alike to take a series of ambitious steps to curb their energy usage. Suppliers responded by stocking up on inventory and scrambling to secure raw material to be able to produce their products. \u201cWe have purchased supplies from many manufacturers, and have enough on hand for six or seven months,\u201d said Mel Hyman of Art-Mold in the November 1973 issue of Counselor.<\/p>\n Fast-forward more than 50 years to present day, and it can be easy to draw parallels between oil crises of the past and the oil shortage happening now. But some believe this could have ripple effects for years to come. Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director at the International Energy Agency, said recently the world is facing the greatest global security threat in history. He noted that during the oil crises in 1973 and 1979, the world lost 10 million barrels per day of oil in total (5 million for each crisis).<\/p>\n
The current price of gas per gallon, as of March 25, 2026
\nWhat\u2019s Happening in the Middle East<\/p>\n![\"Brandon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/brandon-mackay-cir.png\")
\u201cOur distributors are incredibly resilient. Even in the scariest of times, I\u2019m still incredibly bullish on promo.\u201d Brandon Mackay, SnugZ (asi\/88060)<\/p>\n
The share of apparel that relies on polyester(Fibershed)<\/p>\n![\"Dilip](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/dilip-bhavnani-cir.png\")
\u201cThis conflict has impacted more than 40% of our purchasing.\u201dDilip Bhavnani, Sunscope (asi\/90075)<\/p>\n![\"Jackson](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/jacksonburnett-200.jpg\")
\u201cIf this is still unresolved by midsummer, that\u2019s going to have a big impact on prices for 2027.\u201d Jackson Burnett, Vapor Apparel (asi\/ 93396)<\/p>\n