This is a peer-reviewed financial analysis of the post-pandemic global supply chain disruptions and their contribution to inflation. It was written by a senior economist and research associate at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. They used the backlogs and supplier delivery times from the IHS Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index between January and November 2021 to empirically calculate the linear regression of U.S. PPI inflation. The authors conclude that industries dependent on outsourced manufacturing are more exposed to disruption and inflation, and the overall effect of COVID-19 on the supply chain has been “unprecedented” (Labelle & Santacreu 4). Furthermore, inflation is unlikely to disappear due to the unequal distribution of vaccines and the rise of new COVID-19 variants. The concise summary of their results and conclusions is easily comprehensible to the general reader, even if the details of the mathematical analysis are meant for a more financially literate audience.
This is a peer-reviewed academic article about how the pandemic impacted global supply chains. The authors are from universities in Oregon, Manchester, and Padova, and have published numerous other articles concerning economics and trends within the global industry. Supply shortages occurred because companies could not sustain their normal production levels or meet new consumer demands, such as household cleaning products and home-office equipment (Panwar et al. 7). Furthermore, factory backlogs were created during lockdowns when companies stopped ordering production supplies and factory workers returned to their hometowns. Halted production developed into trade route disruptions and a logistics crisis due to reduced vessels at sea. The authors provide a clear factual account of why the global supply chain is still disrupted despite the world slowly recovering from COVID-19.
Works Cited
LaBelle, Jesse, and Santacreu, Ana Maria. “Global Supply Chain Disruptions and Inflation During the COVID-19 Pandemic.”Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, 2022, pp. 1-14.
Panwar, Rajat, et al. “The Future of Global Supply Chains in a Post-COVID-19 World.”California Management Review, vol. 64, no. 2, 2022, pp. 5-23.