I live in Dallas which is a large warehousing and distribution center due to its central location in the US.  This area of the country is only a two day drive (or by rail) to anywhere in the US therefore many companies choose it to locate their distribution centers.  A recent article in the local paper wrote that Dallas may not be the best place anymore, because of the increased fuel cost a central location may not be the most cost effective manner to reach the entire country.   What the new strategy will be has not yet emerged, but the impact to total cost has already been felt.

From a domestic supply perspective this will have an impact on the sourcing practice as we will need to look more carefully at the transportation part of any sourcing project.  We need to ask suppliers if they have multiple options for shipping and ask that they provide a breakdown of cost within these options.  This will increase the complexity involved in evaluating the cost of these options when making award decisions. 

From an international perspective we may have a move away from the usual Low Cost Country Sourcing regions (China, India) to regions closer to home (Brazil, Mexico) or even at home.