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Shortage versus crisis: What’s the difference? — Transmission

When should people panic during times of market stress?

(Photo: FreightWaves)

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In today’s age, panic over shortages can spread like wildfire. Social media and internet misinformation can lead to masses of people getting scared over rumors of product shortages, quickly leading to upheavals. 

There were toilet paper shortages during the beginning of COVID-19 and gas shortages just last week thanks to the Colonial Pipeline shutdown, but when do shortages take the big leap into becoming crises?

On this episode of Transmission, Sebastian Blanco and Grace Sharkey explore how shortages play out in the logistics world and how shortages can balloon into crises. 


They welcome Dan Hearsch, managing director at AlixPartners, to talk about the continuing shortage of semiconductor chips. Hearsch breaks down how the shortage has played into stress on all things from gaming systems to new trucks and how the auto industry is fighting to keep the crisis at bay. 

You can find more Transmission episodes and recaps for all our live podcasts here.

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Kaylee Nix

Kaylee Nix is a meteorologist and reporter for FreightWaves. She joined the company in November of 2020 after spending two years as a broadcast meteorologist for a local television channel in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Kaylee graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2018 and immediately made the Tennessee Valley her home. Kaylee creates written summaries of FreightWaves live podcasts and cultivates the social media for FreightWaves TV.