Aon's trade credit division has warned that US firms potentially face $300bn in exposure to supply chain disruptions around the world.
The warning was issued in its 2005 political and economic risk map, the annual analysis highlighting what Aon perceives as credit and political risk hotspots in 2005.
When producing the document, Aon's analysts consider the impact of a number of events – the 9/11 terrorist attacks; dock strikes in California; the Sars avian flu epidemic; the civil war in the Ivory Coast; and protests and demonstrations in Nigeria's oil producing region in the Niger Delta.
Aon said it has enhanced its analysis this year with the development of a supply chain risk index measuring a company's vulnerability to key threats to their global supply chains.
According to the broker the new index indicates that of the more than half a trillion dollars worth of goods and services the US imported in 2004, close to $312bn is at risk because of political and economic instability.
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