Global industries squeezed as Iran war enters third month
FT News Briefing
Forhecz Topher
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 4 May 2026
⏱️ 11 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We tally the impact of war on industries around the globe as the conflict in Iran stretches into its third month. Plus, Britain braces for voters to deliver a potentially seismic change to the political system. And, though many industries are preparing to deal with shortages caused by the Strait of Hormuz closure, the US and Europe have a glut of milk.
Mentioned in this podcast:
Airlines slash flights as fuel shortage fears mount
UAE fertiliser giant resorts to trucks to shift product out of Gulf
Detroit carmakers warn of $5bn commodities shock due to Iran war
Exxon and Chevron defy Trump pressure to boost oil production
Oil market one month from crunch point as global stockpiles dwindle
Trump’s war in Iran leaves US with sharpest fuel shock in G7
Political Fix: Labour braces for ballot box bloodbath
The land of milk and no money: UK farmers are in a fix
Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts
Today’s FT News Briefing was hosted by Victoria Craig and produced by Marc Filippino and Saffeya Ahmed. Our show was mixed by Alex Higgins. Additional help from Peter Barber. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s Global Head of Audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Good morning from the Financial Times. |
| 0:05.7 | Today is Monday, May 4th, and this is your FT News briefing. |
| 0:10.6 | We're counting the cost of the war in Iran as industries face shortages and disruption. |
| 0:16.2 | Plus, Britain's governing party is bracing for local elections this week. |
| 0:24.9 | We're expecting a devastating set of results for Labor. |
| 0:29.4 | It could be their worst ever showing at a local election in England. |
| 0:47.2 | I'm Victoria Craig, and here's the news you need to start your day. The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran is now in its third month, the critical straight of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world's oil traveled before the war, is still closed, |
| 0:52.6 | and that is causing a commodity shock that's hitting |
| 0:55.7 | a lot of industries. Firstly, airlines, they're slashing thousands of flights globally because |
| 1:01.7 | they're worried about running out of fuel in the coming weeks. Since the start of the war in late |
| 1:05.9 | February, the cost of jet fuel has doubled. But driving instead of flying might not be any cheaper. Not only |
| 1:12.5 | our petrol prices soaring, but the cost to buy a car might also soar too. U.S. automakers estimate |
| 1:19.0 | they're going to take a $5 billion hit from the war this year. That's because the domino effect |
| 1:24.3 | from stalled oil shipments in the Gulf is making everything from aluminum to |
| 1:28.8 | plastics and paint harder to get. If those weren't enough shortages to worry about agriculture is on |
| 1:35.1 | edge too. Prices of the world's most widely used fertilizer have also doubled since the start of the war. |
| 1:41.4 | Now, one of the world's leading fertilizer companies, Emeradi Ferdiglobe, |
| 1:45.5 | will start trucking its cargo out of the Gulf rather than shipping it through the Strait of Hormuz. |
| 1:56.4 | The OPEC Plus group of oil producers said Sunday they will increase June production by 188,000 barrels a day, and slightly less than May's increase. |
| 2:06.6 | It was the first decision without the United Arab Emirates. That country's shock departure announced last week became official on May 1st. |
| 2:14.8 | But despite the boosted production, there is still no plan to reopen the |
| 2:18.3 | Strait of Hormuz, and that has the world wondering where it can turn for more supplies |
... |
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