Why the supply chain is in crisis, spurring an 'everything shortage'

• The supply-chain crisis is the result of COVID-19 disruptions paired with a boom in demand.
• Shortages of workers, equipment, and space have only made the issue worse.

America seems to be $4

Supply-chain bottlenecks caused $4 of everyday products from household goods and electronics to cars, food, and raw materials.

For shoppers, empty shelves can be jarring, spurring panic-buying sprees. It's often the first sign people see that something may be wrong with the global supply chain. But, shortages are typically indicators of issues that have plagued the industry for months.

"At this point, shortages are guaranteed," Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain policy at the National Retail Federation, told Insider. "... We've been warning consumers to manage their expectations for the $4 for months now. The fact of the matter is the supply chain is stretched to its limit from end-to-end."

The supply chain didn't recover from COVID-19

In 2020, coronavirus shutdowns $4 on the global supply chain. Since, lingering virus-mitigation measures continue to limit efforts to return the supply chain to pre-pandemic levels.

Several industry players limited worker levels due to fears of the further spread of COVID-19 within the workplaces. In China, $4 as a result of the country's COVID-19 zero-tolerance policy, spawning $4

"From an economic perspective, it's sort of like a game of musical chairs," former US trade negotiator Harry Broadman told Insider, pointing to efforts in the US to $4 at Asian ports. "The world economy is out of sync because parts of it were forced to go offline when the pandemic started and getting all the industry players back in line at the same time is near impossible."

Demand is soaring

Demand grew so rapidly in the past two years that it's equivalent to about 50 million new Americans joining the economy, Gold told Insider.

"All parts of the supply chain, most of which are built on 'lean' principles (no slack, little redundancy, from truck drivers to inventory in warehouses), were not prepared for this increase," Tony Pelli, Practice Director of Security & Resilience at BSI, told Insider. "While consumer demand can increase in a matter of months, it takes more time to increase port capacity, build warehouses, hire employees, etc., to meet that demand."

Shortages make it difficult to keep up

Ports, warehouses, and trucking companies are $4 while combatting a series of crushing shortages, including workers, equipment, and space.

Most notably, the national labor shortage has left warehouse companies scrambling for employees and key US ports working with limited manpower.

Two of the largest US ports saw $4 in the amount of goods going through them while processing the cargo with 28% fewer workers. In July, the US Labor Department reported that the warehouse industry had a $4. Meanwhile, the trucking industry has a $4

With fewer workers to process the goods, shipping yards and warehouses are $4, making it increasingly difficult to organize the output of goods to their final destinations.

No end in sight

While the $4 represents the most eye-grabbing aspect of the supply-chain crisis, every leg of the industry is in chaos, RBC analyst Mike Tran told Insider. Last week, $4d there will be "dark clouds ahead" for the supply chain.

The only near-term solution would be a $4 though the prospect seems unlikely.

$4 the disruptions will continue well into 2023, despite $4