LOS ANGELES (NewsNation Now) — You’ve probably heard about the chip shortage and higher prices for cars and electronics. But now, supply chain issues are impacting all sorts of unusual goods, including window treatments, buttons, zippers and cans.
“It’s just been one thing after another, whether it’s furniture, electronics for automobiles and now, glass bottles,” said Larry Kerperine, a bar owner.
A global aluminum shortage has also impacted the production of cans.
“I’ve noticed there’s a lot of shortage in meat products, specifically things like turkey and chicken which we eat a lot of in our house.,” said Tara Miller, a shopper.
Supply chain experts believe the global system will remain disrupted for at least another year, so consumers should expect higher prices and shortages to drag on.
“I have clients literally scouring the world for rubber for tires, cotton for fabric to make clothing — pick a category, other than maybe pharmaceuticals, almost every other industry is impacted,” said Wes Gibson, a managing partner with Gibson Consulting.
There is also less inventory of paper products due to the lumber situation and a doubling in the price of wood pulp.
The paper shortage is also impacting the availability and cost of wedding invitations, as well as holiday cards.
Gibson says supply issues have even trickled down to a shortage of twist ties for bagging bread.
“They can’t get zippers for tents,” Gibson said. “Thousands of tents, ready to be shipped, lot of orders for them because of people camping and getting outdoors because of COVID, and they can’t finish them.”
Home builders are also feeling the impact, with a list of endangered items including heater coils, switch plate covers and pant, among others.
“We can’t really guarantee prices longer than 60-90 days because of the increases in all the different prices that have been going on over the year,” said Nick Beno, a business owner.