VISITORS TO a big supermarket in America these days could be forgiven for feeling disoriented. From one angle, all-American consumerism is on full display as in normal times: throngs of people struggling to steer overflowing trolleys in a straight line. Retail sales (excluding cars) rose at a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.8% in August, compared with July, the fastest monthly rate since March. Other images, however, look distinctly unAmerican. To their horror, some shoppers discover empty shelves where their favourite brands of biscuits, detergents, pet food and loo roll typically reside—the result of supply-chain disruptions as outbreaks of the infectious Delta variant of covid-19 shut
→ Continue reading at The Economist
