Tariffs and fuel costs ranked as the two most frequently cited issues affecting the services supply chain in the Institute for Supply Management's September survey, released in its latest ISM Services report.

The monthly survey, which polls purchasing and supply executives across the US services sector, asks respondents to name the commodities and cost pressures in short supply or driving up their expenses. In September, tariffs and fuel costs dominated those verbatim comments more than any other input.

What are services buyers actually reporting?

The ISM Services report aggregates open-ended commentary from panelists alongside its headline diffusion indices. The mentions of tariffs and fuel costs as supply chain disruptors signal that input-cost pressure extends beyond the goods sector, where tariff-driven frontloading has shaped ocean freight demand for months.

For services businesses — a sector that spans transport and warehousing, construction, hospitality and professional services — tariffs bite through equipment, materials and imported components, while fuel costs feed directly into distribution and travel-related expenses.

Why does this matter for freight markets?

Fuel cost complaints from services firms track with the diesel and jet fuel burden that trucking carriers, logistics operators and airlines have absorbed over recent months. When fuel ranks among the top-cited pressures in a broad services panel, it points to cost stress across truckload and less-than-truckload networks, courier operations and air cargo ground handling.

Tariff mentions, meanwhile, indicate that duties imposed on imported goods continue to filter into pricing and sourcing decisions well beyond manufacturers and retailers. Services firms that depend on imported equipment, parts or materials face the same landed-cost inflation that goods shippers have reported throughout the year.

What does it signal going forward?

The concentration of complaints on tariffs and fuel — rather than on labor or broad materials shortages — suggests cost pressure, not availability, is the dominant supply chain concern for services firms heading into the fourth quarter. Purchasing managers will be watching whether tariff policy and energy prices ease or intensify as they budget for 2026.