Cant buy a PS5, cant get an outdoor patio table...

[Lateralus]

I've heard there are shortages on semi conductors and other parts as well as construction materials. Yet my place of work never shut down. The office workers worked from home for a time but all of us worked. Half a dozen of us contracted covid, quarantined and then came back to work. Iam not sure whats going on but its annoying as fuck.

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[MPMB]

Company I worked for didn't shut down, either. I'm working from home. My boss has worked remotely for 5+ years, so no reason why I couldn't as well.

Right now it is supply chain issues from foreign countries who were shut down. After "getting back" to work, they have to clear the backlog orders first (FIFO), then work to replenish current stock.

Our company is working with our suppliers, some of which will give priority to "buy now, pay now" customers. As our production is dependent on raw chemical materials, we have to balance what we're promoting (I'm on the marketing side) so we don't get a run on specific product and get a shortage.

I would assume companies that work in biological areas probably had all-hands-on-deck for the vaccinations, etc., and that left other areas devoid of support and labor.

But yeah, some of the stuff doesn't make sense. Lumber? How does construction hold-ups from shut downs result in sky-high prices? Mills are few and far between these days, and I can't believe they'd be shut down. Lumberjacks are probably one of the least likely occupations to contract COVID.

Or is our transportation industry infrastructure so fragile that this is all it takes to screw over so many industries?

 

[IamAlan]

But yeah, some of the stuff doesn't make sense. Lumber? How does construction hold-ups from shut downs result in sky-high prices? Mills are few and far between these days, and I can't believe they'd be shut down. Lumberjacks are probably one of the least likely occupations to contract COVID.

You answered your own question. When construction shut down, the demand for lumber also shut down. No orders in the pipeline = no lumberjacks or sawmills needed. Those folks were furloughed so no lumber was being processed. Same with shipping companies, nail and screw mills, electronic components, packing material suppliers, customs Inspectors, truck drivers, etc. When there is a backlog on the books, commodities can keep working because they can see into the future with a degree of certainty. When you have no idea of future income, you crawl up into a ball and wait. It all stopped at once, and now it's all demanded at once. And high demand with low supply commands high prices. That's supply chain economics and the supply chain broke. It may take a very long time to smooth things out, especially when certain entities appear to want to make it more attractive to not work.

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