A List of All of the Shortages in US Economy, From Diapers to Cars

US Markets Loading... H M S

• As the US economy increasingly reopens, it is seeing shortages of all sorts of items.
• If you've tried to buy (or rent) a car or eat some chicken wings, you've probably noticed.
• Insider rounded up some of the major supply shortages and why they're lagging.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

Computer chips

An ongoing computer-chip shortage has affected cars, iPads, and dog-washing technology alike. Chipmakers like Intel had already seen production issues pre-pandemic, but as with many industries, COVID-19 brought a variety of new supply-chain issues. The chip shortage is a problem for consumers wanting basically anything with a computerized component, which is much of the economy. Take cars as an example.

The semiconductor shortage has hit automakers the hardest. In January, the consulting firm Alix Partners estimated the automotive industry would lose $61 billion in revenue from the shortage this year. As Insider's Katie Canales reported, demand for chips has gone up as consumers scrambled to buy cars and other technologies that use them.

But as more cars went into production, chip competition went up. Since then, many carmakers have been forced to shut down plants and prioritize which models they produce, while car prices at dealerships have continued to go up.

Last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the semiconductor shortage has caused "insane difficulties" for the electric carmaker. Even Apple — a company that many thought would be able to dodge the shortage after it started making its own high-powered computer chips last year — said it will delay production on its iMac and iPad.

Used cars and rental cars

Buyers are still looking for vehicles, creating a competitive used-car market. As USA Today reported, used-car prices are on the rise as the aforementioned chip shortages affect new-car production, and buyers have turned to older ones instead, while Axios reported the average price of a used car has hit $17,609.

A UBS note estimated that in April, used cars saw their largest monthly price increase in 68 years of tracking, with prices rising between 8.2% and 9.3%.

If you're looking to rent, you might also be out of luck: Insider's Brittany Chang reported on the "perfect storm" hitting rental cars right now, with prices surging and demand increasing. Americans are itching to go on vacation this summer, as more people are vaccinated and some restrictions loosen. That's leading to far more demand — but rental-car companies had sold off parts of their fleets early into the pandemic, leaving fewer cars to go around. 

It's not all bad news for used-car lovers, though: As USA Today reports, the trade-in market is hot, too, meaning your old car could be worth more right now.

Plastics and palm oil

The devastating winter storms in Texas also left their mark on the plastics industry. As Insider's Natasha Dailey reported, the state is a key plastics exporter — and the storms made many plants, which are difficult to reactivate, press pause.

According to the Financial Times, rising plastic prices have led to an increase in packaging costs. Citing data from Mintec, the Financial Times reported that those costs have increased by nearly 40% from the start of 2020, marking "historic highs."

Palm oil, which is in a majority of those packaged products, also saw its prices climb, according to the Financial Times. That's due to yet another labor shortage; the industry had already been contending with finding more sustainable production methods.

Homes and vacation houses

The US was facing a shortage of 3.8 million homes as of April, according to Freddie Mac. Home builders have been struggling to keep up with demand as remote work fuels interest in spacious housing, with house prices rising at their fastest pace in 15 years, The Wall Street Journal reported. Lumber prices are also driving the cost of new homes even higher.

In the past year alone, the median cost of a home in the US shot up 15% from $300,000 in 2019 to $340,000 by the end of 2020, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. That measure does not even begin to account for hot housing markets like Austin, Texas, where the average home went for more than $800,000 in April.

Even vacation-home rentals are at an all-time high. A house in the Hamptons rented for $2 million this summer, and 85% of vacation rentals in popular destinations like Cape Cod, the Outer Banks, and the Jersey Shore are booked through August, according to the rental site VRBO.

Lumber

If you're wondering why the houses around you are getting more expensive, look to their component parts. No, seriously: Lumber prices have soared, and, as Insider's Ayelet Sheffey and Libertina Brandt reported, builders are even increasing house prices in an attempt to offset demand.

It's due to another pandemic disruption, as lumber mills were forced to temporarily close for safety concerns. When they reopened, they couldn't keep up with a scorching-hot housing market, goosed by a work-from-home economy, record low mortgage rates, and the need for personal space during the pandemic.

According to an April analysis from the National Association of Home Builders, soaring lumber prices added $36,000 to the cost of a new home. Lumber prices "remain stubbornly high," according to the report, due to mills shutting down, unexpected demand from big-box retail and DIY-ers, and tariffs imposed on Canadian lumber.

Household products like toilet paper and tampons

Many household goods including toilet paper , diapers, and tampons are also facing supply problems.

One of the biggest producers of the pulp used to create toilet paper told Bloomberg that port delays and high shipping costs are causing companies to push delivery dates back months. 

Shortages and shipping delays are causing many companies to hike prices. Last month, Proctor & Gamble said it would raise prices for baby-care and feminine-care products, as well as adult diapers to combat shortages and shipping costs. The same week, Kimberly Clark hiked the price of its Huggies diapers and Scott toilet paper. 

Furniture

The work-from-home lifestyle helped the furniture industry boom but to such an extent that customers are seeing delivery dates that are months out.

In February, La-Z-Boy executives said customers could expect delivery dates that are five to nine months out from their order dates. Other furniture companies like Kasala, a Seattle-based chain, said they don't expect to get furniture parts until at least December.

Many US furniture stores use parts from China. The global shipping-container shortage, as well as delays at key ports in Southern California have not only made the goods more expensive, but have also pushed back delivery dates by several months.

The furniture shortage has been exacerbated by a spike in homeownership, as the number of available and unsold homes sits at record lows. In other words, a lot of new homeowners are waiting a long time for their new living-room sets.

Bacon and hot dogs

Bacon and hot dogs will likely be in short supply this summer.

The pig shortage dates back to the onset of COVID-19 and outbreaks in at least 167 meat-processing plants forcing almost 40 plants to close as of June 2020. As vaccination rates pick up and people prepare for summer vacations and cookouts, analysts told Insider's Natasha Dailey demand will outstrip supply.

With pork companies still struggling to overcome lower production rates in 2020, the matter only intensified when high instances of disease hit the hog population this past winter.

Imported foods like cheese, coffee, and olive oil

Imported goods including coffee, cheese, seafood, and olive oil are facing months of shipping delays.

Dozens of mega-containers ships are waiting to dock off the coast of Los Angeles. The site accounts for about one-third of US imports, and the backlog is causing ships to wait weeks to dock and unload.

Some companies are already seeing the impact on their shelves. In March, Costco said its supplies of cheese, seafood, and olive oil were running low. 

General Mills said it has been forced to raise prices due to the delays increased shipping costs.  Coca-Cola also raised prices to combat the supply-chain crunch. Neither company specified which products would be affected.

Coffee has also been hit by delays, Bloomberg reported in March. Peet's and JM Smucker, the brands behind Folgers and Dunkin' coffee, have said they're facing rising costs. Reuters reported that in February, port delays pushed coffee prices to their highest point in more than a year.

Chlorine

This summer pool owners will see the worst chlorine shortage in US history, according to CNBC.

Supplies of the chemical have been strained since a fire at the chlorine manufacturer BioLab in Louisiana in September. The price for chlorine used in pools has nearly doubled this past year and is expected to rise even more to meet demand this summer.

Insider's Annabelle Williams reported that pool owners could help avoid the shortage by resorting to saltwater pools.

Corn

Corn is a key crop for many products, including fuel and different foods. As supply concerns loom, corn prices are popping off, according to Axios. 

There's a few reasons that demand is so high: After an outbreak of swine fever in China, pig herds were "decimated," according to Axios, leading to huge corn demand in China. That spike in demand is coupled with corn crops in Brazil and Argentina experiencing both bad weather and pandemic-related labor shortages.

Now corn prices are on a record-setting clip, rising by 16% in April alone. 

And, as Fortune reported, there could be a domestic supply issue too. Droughts and a rough winter are both concerning — and if American crops can't fill in the gaps, prices could rise even more.

Oxygen

The New York Times reports that shortages of oxygen for medical purposes have worsened, with the global need tripling over two months from March to May. Those shortages have been particularly devastating in India, which has suffered from immense shortages amidst a wave of rising COVID cases.

According to the Times, poorer areas were struggling with oxygen supply even prior to the pandemic. As the pandemic progressed, oxygen supply wasn't prioritized — leading to even greater shortages now. Some hospitals may also be unable to use liquid oxygen, one of the more common (and cheaper) forms of oxygen.

In late April, several reports said that hospitals in India had just a few hours of oxygen supply left for patients. 

Labor

Finally, a commodity unlike all the others is in surprisingly short supply: workers.

Major labor shortages are hitting businesses across America. As Insider's Kate Taylor reported, chains like Dunkin' and Starbucks are struggling to find workers — leading to reduced hours and hesitance on opening indoor dining back up.

There's a few possible reasons that unemployed workers are opting not to return, according to Insider's Ayelet Sheffey. They include workers making more on unemployment benefits than in their prior work as well as continued concerns over COVID-19 and the need to provide childcare at home.

As Insider previously reported, female tipped workers experienced lower tips and increased harassment during the pandemic.  

One potential solution for ending this shortage, according to Taylor? Paying workers more.

Loading Something is loading.

Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.