By Andrew Balthrop, Ron Gordon, and Doug Voss
During the two years that COVID-19 has altered American life, we have seen shortages of goods ranging from toilet paper and N95 masks to semiconductors and new cars. The supply chain disruptions that fueled those shortages often followed a general pattern.
- Unexpected demand caused booming sales for a given product.
- Retailers and manufacturers depleted their inventories of that product.
- Supply chain bottlenecks such as temporary Covid-related factory closures or delayed shipments prevented firms from replenishing their inventories, leading to stockouts, rationing, and higher prices.