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The shortage of workers in certain fields is part of the reason why certain goods are hard to come by. Who would have thought it'd be hard to get fried chicken? It is for KFC and some other restaurants like Buffalo Wild Wings and Wing Stop.
The prices they pay for chicken have gone up and a big reason is the groups that supply it are having trouble finding employees and keeping up with demand. We've told you how bicycles, computer chips, ketchup packets and lumber have been harder to find. Same thing with steel, when the COVID outbreak started suppliers of these goods temporarily shutdown but demand for them unexpectedly went up. So that caused shortages and price increases.
Rare earth metals are needed for everything from computer wiring in homes to lithiumion batteries and while demand for these items is on the rise, their supply chains are somewhat unreliable. And it takes a long time to set up new mining operations.
Chlorine prices for pool owners are going up just as people start diving into the summer swimming season. A big problem here has to do with a fire at a chlorine factory last August. But when we talk about gas prices, that brings us full circle back to a labor shortage. Companies say their just aren't enough qualified drivers out there to man the tanker trucks and that's happening just as the summer driving season gets underway.
