Consumers are splurging on cars and furniture — and facing extended waits for delivery. Restaurants and gyms are reopening — and struggling to find workers. Factories and home builders are trying to ramp up — but are short on semiconductors or raw materials.
Federal Reserve officials and most economists largely play down supply and cost problems as transitory, saying they aren’t widespread enough to threaten corporate profits or the broader U.S. economy for long, especially amid strong sales.
But problems are acute for some individual businesses and even entire industries. Executives from gadget giant Apple Inc.
AAPL,
The Covid-19 outbreak paralyzed both supply and demand last spring. This spring, vaccinations and government stimulus have created imbalances in many sectors.
An expanded version of this story appears on WSJ.com.
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