The early pandemic was dominated by acute supply-chain issues—hitting supplies of masks and PPE, then food and household essentials, then electronics and household durables, and finally spreading to virtually all consumer products. Americans were buying more goods than ever before while weakened global manufacturing hubs and congested international trade networks struggled to keep up the pace. A shortage of semiconductors and other electronic components wrecked complex manufacturing, especially the global car industry, while broad production constraints reached a fever pitch coinciding with the energy shortages of ... (full story)