by Freedonia Industry Studies
May 19, 2021
The global economy is seeing shortages and historically high prices for things such as lumber, computer chips, plastic resins, corrugated board/boxes, and chicken – all products that have ripple effects into larger markets such as home construction, vehicle manufacturing, packaged goods, e-commerce shipments, and foodservice... what is going on here?
While there are often industry-specific challenges, there are several factors in common across much of the economy:
While some of these conditions existed in 2020, there were a lot of segments of the economy where we still didn’t see price increases until recently. Why not? Some retailers and manufacturers have had a sort of “decency pressure” on them…they haven't wanted to be seen as taking advantage of a pandemic so they have refrained from raising prices in some cases. However, that period is likely over. With more people vaccinated and fewer people dying, there will be less of a feeling that rising prices indicates profiteering in a crisis. Suppliers increasingly see their price increases as justified and fully in line with their rising costs.
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