Cars, lumber and chicken: the shortages triggered by the end of lockdowns

Demand for items that people want as lives slowly return to normal has outstripped supply and sent consumer prices soaring

The coronavirus pandemic triggered all kinds of shortages, with demand for items from toilet paper and puzzles to baking yeast soaring as people struggled to adjust to life under lockdown. Now the lockdowns are receding. The shortages? Not so much.

Demand for items that people want in their post-lockdown lives has outstripped supply and, along with supply chain issues, has sent consumer prices soaring and created a strange patchwork of expensive, or unavailable, items.

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