Research Highlights

Supply Chain Secrecy: How Forced Labor Scrutiny Relates to Redactions in US Import Records

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gurpal sran headshot

Overview: In the paper titled, “Redacted Identities in Shipment Records: Evidence from Forced Labor Scrutiny in Supply Chains,” NYU Stern Professor Gurpal S. Sran and co-author Sandra G. Schafhӓutle (University of Pennsylvania) study the characteristics of companies’ observable non-disclosure decisions about their global supply chains.

Why study this now: Many countries and organizations are trying to crack down on companies that buy products made using forced labor. If a company is linked to suppliers involved in forced labor, it can face backlash, legal trouble, or damage to its reputation. The study suggests that some companies hide their names in shipping records to avoid this kind of attention.

What the authors found: Using a data set of US maritime import transactions from S&P Global’s Panjiva Supply Chain Intelligence, the researchers found that about 16% of shipment records from 2013 through 2023 have redacted identities. Additionally:

  • Shipments from regions with a high risk of forced labor (like parts of Asia and Africa) are more likely to have hidden importer and supplier names.
  • When international reports or US laws increased scrutiny on forced labor (like the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in 2022), the number of redactions went up, especially for the most affected cotton and apparel imports.
  • Redactions are also common in newer supply chain linkages or industries like manufacturing, where companies want to keep supplier relationships secret for competitive reasons.

What does this change: This research shows that companies may be using redactions not just to protect trade secrets but also to avoid accountability for being linked to unethical labor practices. This makes it harder for activists, consumers, and regulators to track and fight forced labor in global supply chains.

Key insight: “Redacted identities in maritime shipment data could hinder the complete and critical monitoring of supply chain activities in the areas most exposed to social externalities like forced labor,” said the authors. “Such insights are important as US policymakers continue to take material steps in combating forced labor, in part through business stakeholder engagement and supply chain transparency initiatives.”