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(WTTW News)
Buyers eagerly awaiting the holiday season this year should be prepared for higher prices, delivery delays, and even the unavailability of some items.
This is because the global supply chain – the international production and distribution of goods and services – has been disrupted by a host of issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing consumer demand, storms and a shortage of everything from shipping containers to employees.
Just as the coronavirus quickly spread around the world, economic disruptions to the global supply chain have also spread, according to Maciek Nowak, Acting Dean of the Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University.
“If a big manufacturing center in China slows down, it shows everywhere,” Nowak said. “If there is an increase in demand for a certain set of products, like toilet paper last year, it impacts everything else – all of those products travel on the same trucks. So we’ve been battling supply chain uncertainty for over a year now. “
Nowak said he expects companies to better prepare for future disruptions by increasing their inventories if they haven’t already.
Lawrence Officer, Professor of Economics at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Jeffrey Haushalter, partner at Chicago Council, join Nowak and “Chicago Tonight” to unpack the supply chain situation.
Note: This story will be updated with a video.
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