Most global trade flows through these 27 chokepoints. The economic risks are rising, report says.

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August 14, 2026 / 4:10 PM EDT

/ CBS News

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The Iran war has underscored how disruptions to a key shipping route thousands of miles away can have a material impact on what American consumers pay at home for essentials like gasoline. The conflict, now nearing its six-month mark, has throttled traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for global energy shipments, as strikes on commercial vessels raise concerns about the passageway's safety. The slowdown has caused global oil prices to surge, pushing gasoline past $4 a gallon and fueling broader inflation.The U.S. and Iran have made multiple attempts to broker a peace deal, but talks have unraveled as the two sides continue to vie for control of the Strait of Hormuz, an indication of how key waterways can become instruments of leverage during geopolitical conflicts.A new report from Oxford Economics outlines 26 other major chokepoints with high trade volumes that could also threaten the economy if shipping were to grind to a halt.Where is global trade concentrated?As Oxford's report points out, Asia has the densest concentration of key global chokepoints. The region is home to several vital waterways, including the Strait of Malacca, situated between the Indonesian island of Sumatra and Malaysia, and the Taiwan Strait, through which one-fourth of global trade passes, according to Oxford.The Mediterranean Sea is also a hot spot for global trade activity. Around one-fifth of global trade transits the Strait of Gibraltar, which connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, and the Suez Canal, an artificial waterway in northeastern Egypt, according to Oxford's report.While the Panama Canal is less significant to global trade, it remains an important chokepoint for the Americas. Some 40% of all U.S. container traffic traverses the artificial waterway annually, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonpartisan think tank.What are the major threats to global trade?Geopolitical disruptions pose one of the greatest threats to global trade. That includes countries looking to use critical chokepoints for their own political or geopolitical gain, Harry Murphy Cruise, head of economic research and global trade at Oxford, told CBS News.