As we have all become supply chain experts over the past year, more of us have become familiar with the dread “bullwhip effect”, when shortages of goods unexpectedly turn into surpluses. Well, it seems the bullwhip has cracked, at least for many US retailers.
Having spent months making excuses about stock shortages to American consumers, they are now trying to lure them back into the store or on to the website with promises of extended sales, discounts and faster deliveries. But it seems the buying public are no longer so interested.
So goods such as furniture, appliances and building materials, once impossible to find, are piling up in warehouses and stores.
Some evidence of this came with the Chicago ISM, a midwest business barometer often seen as a leading indicator of economic activity nationally. Its inventories index rose 8.5 points last month to 59.6, which was the highest since the US autumn in 2018. Order backlogs…
