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Really? Forced shutdowns -> things not being made -> not enough things... It's basic supply/demand. If demand stays the same but supply is interrupted, produ

Really? Forced shutdowns -> things not being made -> not enough things... It's basic supply/demand. If demand stays the same but supply is interrupted, production needs to increase for the same amount of time just to satisfy the demand that went unfulfilled. If supply is interrupted and 'reopening' simply means going back to initial production, you'll always be playing catch up.

pphysch 5y ago
There are plenty of things, they are just stuck on boats off California.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- Mikeb85 5y ago
  There's a shortage of many things that aren't on boats off California as well.
  - giantrobot 5y ago
    The goods stuck on ships waiting to be unloaded don't help the overall situation. Containers sitting loaded on ships and ships waiting in an anchorage are containers and ships that can't pick up newly manufactured items elsewhere.
callmeal 5y ago
It's not that simple. Modern (just-in-time) practices have created a situation where a single change in customer demand leads to widespread supply shocks. Take a look at the beer game[0] for a smaller version of real life. That's what happened here - lockdowns led to a single change in customer demand for a wide variety of goods both on the personal side(more people at home -> snacks, food, toiletpaper that would have been used up at work started being needed at home), and on the commercial side (no people in the office: no ongoing bulk papertowels/toiletpaper/vending machines/office supplies). [0] https://www.shmula.com/the-bullwhip-effect/310/ https://www.shmula.com/the-bullwhip-effect/310/
- Mikeb85 5y ago
  It's always more complicated. It's also always that simple. Consumer preferences changed slightly *because* of lockdowns in addition to supply changing drastically *because* of lockdowns. In our just-in-time supply chain system, interruptions of the magnitude we experienced aren't accounted for.

pphysch 5y ago

There are plenty of things, they are just stuck on boats off California.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
Mikeb85 5y ago
There's a shortage of many things that aren't on boats off California as well.
- giantrobot 5y ago
  The goods stuck on ships waiting to be unloaded don't help the overall situation. Containers sitting loaded on ships and ships waiting in an anchorage are containers and ships that can't pick up newly manufactured items elsewhere.

callmeal 5y ago

It's not that simple. Modern (just-in-time) practices have created a situation where a single change in customer demand leads to widespread supply shocks. Take a look at the beer game[0] for a smaller version of real life. That's what happened here - lockdowns led to a single change in customer demand for a wide variety of goods both on the personal side(more people at home -> snacks, food, toiletpaper that would have been used up at work started being needed at home), and on the commercial side (no people in the office: no ongoing bulk papertowels/toiletpaper/vending machines/office supplies). [0] https://www.shmula.com/the-bullwhip-effect/310/ https://www.shmula.com/the-bullwhip-effect/310/

Mikeb85 5y ago
It's always more complicated. It's also always that simple. Consumer preferences changed slightly *because* of lockdowns in addition to supply changing drastically *because* of lockdowns. In our just-in-time supply chain system, interruptions of the magnitude we experienced aren't accounted for.