2021–2023 global supply chain crisis

In 2021, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and, later, the ongoing 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, global supply chains and shipments slowed, causing worldwide shortages and affecting consumer patterns.

The related global chip shortage has contributed to the supply chain crisis, specifically in the automobile and electronics sectors.

During the Christmas and holiday season of 2021, an increase in spending in North America, combined with the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, further exacerbated already tight supplies.

In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic initially slowed the global supply chain as manufacturers suspended work until safety precautions were enacted.

The country worked through the pandemic in 2020, with a strict lockdown procedure, but outbreaks in 2021 forced many manufacturers to close, especially as workers remained largely unvaccinated.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began to shut down manufacturing facilities, it set off a chain reaction of disruption to the many companies which adopted lean principles in their production pipeline.

This surge spread inland as rail and trucking services struggled under the increased load alongside a labor shortage.

[19] In December 2021, CEOs of major automotive manufacturers and electronics makers said they expected the shortage of semiconductor chips to continue through the first half of 2022.

[21] India, the United States, and Brazil are hardest hit in the supply chain with significant shortages of many different product categories.

Interruptions in the supply chain have proved particularly difficult to overcome and control, which has put these countries at a disadvantage in global trade.