A lot of industries got hit by whiplash. They were assuming a pandemic would spark a massive recession and contraction in demand, so they cancelled orders for s

A lot of industries got hit by whiplash. They were assuming a pandemic would spark a massive recession and contraction in demand, so they cancelled orders for supplies, shut down production, and battened down the hatches. But due to truly historic government intervention, and reduced demand for in-person services, consumers actually had a huge amount of money to spend on manufactured goods and demand very quickly shot up. Combine this with ongoing disruption of the supply chains due to outbreaks, and we have an unbelievable clusterfuck in goods with deep, global supply chains.