Why The Shelves Are Still Empty
November 17, 2021
For almost two years now products such as game consoles, cereal, clothes, and more have seen significant shortages due to a multitude of problems that occurred simultaneously.
The most significant of these being, lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, widespread labor shortages, and an exceptional demand for products.
COVID-19
At the start of the pandemic some of the world’s biggest manufacturers like, Germany, China, and South Korea were hit hard by the virus and so the countries introduced harsh lockdown measures.
This prevented many workers from going to their work and creating the products we consume. This should have been only a problem at the beginning of the pandemic when lockdowns were more common, but COVID-19 remains a problem for manufacturers.
Businesses have still had to cut back production due to workers being sporadically in and out of work from being sick or striking. So, most manufacturers aren’t operating at pre-pandemic levels even now.
Labor shortages
Across the United States millions are quitting their jobs or retiring early due to their poor treatment by their employers and not wanting to catch COVID.
Workers are demanding higher wages and while some employers have tried to offer some benefits they were deemed as too little by most. The Department of Labor reported 4.3 million Americans had quit their jobs in August.
Several of these workers were a crucial part of manufacturing industry, meaning they worked for warehouse or shipping companies.
Roughly 500,000 shipping containers are sitting idly in Los Angeles ports alone due simply to there being not enough drivers.
Demand
The COVID-19 pandemic and the following drop in vacations, and multiple stimulus bills gave many middle-class Americans lots of money to work with but not much to spend it on.
Spending cratered at the start of the Pandemic due to many Americans’ saving for the worst.
As the virus slowed down in early 2021 Americans, along with the rest of the world, began buying all the products they might have hesitated on buying during the pandemic.
Retailers, both online and physical, are having trouble keeping up with the sharp increase in demand.
Projected End
The Biden administration has attempted to alleviate several of the problems leading to the supply shortage.
For example, Biden has ordered that all ports in the US work 24/7 to clear shipping containers out, but Bidens policies have not seen many immediate effects.
No one knows how long the supply chain will be in disorder, but it may continue this trend throughout late 2022 and even longer.
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