The World Economy Is Suddenly Running Low on Everything

[JoanofArgh]

Mattress producers to car manufacturers to aluminum foil makers are buying more material than they need to survive the breakneck speed at which demand for goods is recovering and assuage that primal fear of running out. The frenzy is pushing supply chains to the brink of seizing up. Shortages, transportation bottlenecks and price spikes are nearing the highest levels in recent memory, raising concern that a supercharged global economy will stoke inflation

Copper, iron ore and steel. Corn, coffee, wheat and soybeans. Lumber, semiconductors, plastic and cardboard for packaging. The world is seemingly low on all of it. “You name it, and we have a shortage on it,” Tom Linebarger, chairman and chief executive of engine and generator manufacturer Cummins Inc., said on a call this month. Clients are “trying to get everything they can because they see high demand,” Jennifer Rumsey, the Columbus, Indiana-based company’s president, said. “They think it’s going to extend into next year.”


The difference between the big crunch of 2021 and past supply disruptions is the sheer magnitude of it, and the fact that there is — as far as anyone can tell — no clear end in sight. Big or small, few businesses are spared. Europe’s largest fleet of trucks, Girteka Logistics, says there’s been a struggle to find enough capacity. Monster Beverage Corp. of Corona, California, is dealing with an aluminum can scarcity. Hong Kong’s MOMAX Technology Ltd. is delaying production of a new product because of a dearth of semiconductors.

Further exacerbating the situation is an unusually long and growing list of calamities that have rocked commodities in recent months. A freak accident in the Suez Canal backed up global shipping in March. Drought has wreaked havoc upon agricultural crops. A deep freeze and mass blackout wiped out energy and petrochemicals operations across the central U.S. in February. Less than two weeks ago, hackers brought down the largest fuel pipeline in the U.S., driving gasoline prices above $3 a gallon for the first time since 2014. Now India’s massive Covid-19 outbreak is threatening its biggest ports.



https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-17/inflation-rate-2021-and-shortages-companies-panic-buying-as-supplies-run-short

[joetheman]

1. The "haves" vs the "have nots." The "haves" still want more! nt

[Sherman A1]

2. This will sort itself out in a few months

I suspect. There will still be spot shortages, but there always were at any given time.

[Bucky]

3. If the robots plan on rising up, now would be a good moment to strike

[Klaralven]

4. Demand is increasing faster than supply

At least that's the case in semiconductors.

Production, in terms of equivalent 200 mm wafer starts is probably up 10% year over year. However, as everyone across the globe goes more digital, there is tremendous demand. Some users, such as the auto industry didn't plan ahead and pay up to get in line for enough foundry capacity.

https://epsnews.com/2021/02/10/5-fabs-own-54-of-global-semiconductor-capacity/

[2naSalit]

5. In a world of finite resources...

There will inevitably be and end to the supply. There cannot be a sustained endless flow and instant availability of all things anymore, we should adapt.

[RegularJam]

6. What's not is short supply?

Meat. Yet the price is absurd. Next time the government buys a couple hundred millions worth they should try to work on pricing for us. The meat industry is only increasing production as their product sits in freezers. If not for Covid cold storage would be full. I believe we are now up close to the government purchasing close to a half billion dollars in the last year and a half. Huge subsidy while we keep getting gouged.

[cinematicdiversions]

7. Well we are definitely short of chicken wings

Which is one of the four major food groups.

[RegularJam]

8. Not my thing.

I much prefer fried chicken breast bites over wings. That said, I know some are passionate about their wings.

Wonder whey there is a shortage there yet the meat industry refuses to decrease production in other areas. Possibly the weather issue in Texas? There is a massive surplus of other meats and the industry is refusing to slow production. It's shocking how much the government has subsidized the industry, how much meat they currently have on hand, and how high the prices. are.

[vanlassie]

9. I don't think this is totally a Covid related thing

Is it? Seems like there were lots of supply problems throughout Trumps reign.