10 Products in Short Supply Due to the Coronavirus

Certain consumer goods are getting scarce, and we don't just mean hand sanitizer and toilet paper.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Certain consumer goods are getting scarce, and we don't just mean hand sanitizer and toilet paper. Expect a number of products to be in short supply this spring. Many imports from China didn't make it onto cargo ships in January or February.

Inventories are falling because of delayed shipments of raw materials and components sourced from Asia, but supply-chain breakdowns go beyond China. Businesses that import parts or materials from Southeast Asia are finding out that many of those suppliers depend on China for raw materials. One-third of Cambodia's garment factories have shut down for lack of Chinese fabrics. Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand, Pakistan and other countries are experiencing similar China-related shortages.

China's factories should be humming again by the end of this month, but it'll take longer than that to make up for lost production and restock inventories.

TOOL: Stimulus Check Calculator (Find Out How Much You Will Get)

David Payne
Staff Economist, The Kiplinger Letter

David is both staff economist and reporter for The Kiplinger Letter, overseeing Kiplinger forecasts for the U.S. and world economies. Previously, he was senior principal economist in the Center for Forecasting and Modeling at IHS/GlobalInsight, and an economist in the Chief Economist's Office of the U.S. Department of Commerce. David has co-written weekly reports on economic conditions since 1992, and has forecasted GDP and its components since 1995, beating the Blue Chip Indicators forecasts two-thirds of the time. David is a Certified Business Economist as recognized by the National Association for Business Economics. He has two master's degrees and is ABD in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.