Freight and IT are among the cost pressures proving hardest for hospitals to absorb this year, according to supply chain leaders. The expenses don’t always command the same attention as product pricing, but leaders say they are increasingly eating into budgets.
IT hardware and software topped Vizient’s inflation forecast at 5.66%, followed by medical gases at 5% and IT services at 4.5%, according to the group purchasing organization’s Winter 2026 Spend Management Outlook. That aligns with what Luke Martin, administrative director of supply chain management at San Angelo, Texas-based Shannon Health, is seeing.
“Mitigating cost increases associated with IT hardware, software and licensing agreements has been an opportunity for us at Shannon during this fiscal year,” he said. His team has leaned on benchmarking and analytics tools to manage much of the impact, though he said doing so requires ongoing time and resources.
For other leaders, freight has been the tougher pill to swallow.
“It’s becoming the hidden tax on healthcare supply chains,” said Don Barton, chief technical officer and director of supply chain management at Major Health Partners in Shelbyville, Ind. “Product price increases get the attention, but rising freight, shipping and expedited-delivery costs are hitting nearly every category we buy.”
He said the pressure is greater for smaller organizations like his, which often lack the volume to spread those costs across larger orders. In response, Mr. Barton’s team is working to negotiate freight costs into product pricing, consolidate shipments and challenge vendors on expedited fees. “‘Free shipping’ shouldn’t be considered a luxury in healthcare,” he said.
Lee Nester, director of logistics at Gastonia, N.C.-based CaroMont Health, is fighting the same battle. “This year, it’s been difficult to accept additional freight charges, along with the inflationary costs that continue to hit certain products,” he said. Like Mr. Barton, he pointed to order volume as a key challenge: smaller orders often trigger minimum-order freight charges or added fees that are largely out of his team’s control. “In the past we were not having to deal with those cost pressures,” he said.
Their experiences point to a shift in where hospitals are feeling cost pressure — not only in what they buy, but in the cost of getting products where they need to go and keeping technology running. Vizient’s broader 2026 outlook projected a 2.78% rise in medical supply chain costs and pointed to IT services and capital equipment as main drivers, suggesting these pressures extend beyond individual health systems.
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