The supply chains of several key industries were affected immediately by the terrorist attacks on September 11. In a survey conducted by Modern Materials Handling in the week following, Internet retailers reported difficulty in providing overnight deliveries to their customers due to the grounding of air services. Automakers also had difficulty obtaining parts that usually arrive just-in-time to their assembly lines. This was especially critical for plants in the U.S. that receive parts from Canada. Most of these shipments were halted at the border.

Other distributors and retailers of clothing, shoes, electronics, and housewares reported that the attacks caused only a slight disruption, and operations normalized in a day or two.