The auto industry keeps getting hit by supply constraints at a time when it is making some of the biggest transitions in its more than century-long history.
The war in Iran could be just the latest of those issues. Though the region is not a major maker of automotive parts, it does produce key resources such as oil and aluminum.
About 20% of the world’s oil travels through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a major shipping artery that is bordered on two sides by Iran and Oman.
Oil prices surged above $100 a barrel on Monday with concerns about supply as the war continues. Drivers are already paying more at the pump. Gas in Iowa, for example, is now above $3 per gallon, according to GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan.
That’s still a ways from the peak prices hit in 2022, De Haan said. But there have been two 12 cent increases nationwide in the past two weeks. That’s two of the largest single day increases going back to 2005 in terms of nominal increase in cents per gallon, according to GasBuddy.
