Why Is Everything So Expensive & Out Of Stock? | Wolf Richter

The disruption the pandemic has inflicted on global supply chains is really starting to harm consumers.

The world has been watching prices rise dramatically this year across nearly all goods & services — in large part caused by the $trillions in monetary & fiscal stimulus flooding into the economy as well as the disruption of global supply chains caused by the COVID pandemic.

But not only are consumers experiencing rising prices at the store, they’re increasingly finding empty shelves, too.

On the supply side, things have become so bad that macro analyst, Wolf Richter, has coined the term “The Everything Shortage” to describe the era of scarcity we’re now experiencing.

How much longer is it likely to last?

Longer than many are expecting, warns Richter in this newly-released interview. He sees higher prices and inventory shortages continuing though 2022, and even into 2023 for certain industries. Here’s why.