Op-Ed: The Supply Chain Crisis is Not Over
The pandemic continues to show adverse effects on the economy.
Prices have fluctuated on online shopping sites like Amazon. Photo purchased at BigStock.com
On March 3, I wrote that “a computer part such as an RTX 3060 Ti GPU that would typically cost $400 MSRP now costs $835.” In four months, the same graphics card now costs only $580.
While these electronics prices still aren’t MSRP, they are much closer.
This jump in prices has been a breath of fresh air for those who have been waiting to get their hands on a graphics card. For cards such as the RTX 3060 Ti GPU. According to Amazon, the price has dropped 31 percent in four months.
While this decrease is incredible, it may not be permanent. One of the main reasons behind the supply chain crisis being so bad in the first place was everyone wanted to get their hands on products due to lockdown. The demand for graphics has been going up as prices go down.
In many ways, the state of the supply chain crisis and COVID-19 are very similar. Both of them have been doing better, but if we don’t protect our progress, it’ll just regress to the way it was.
For COVID-19, that means protecting yourself and others from getting sick through wearing a mask, social distancing, or other methods. For the supply chain crisis, that means not buying everything while you can just because the price is lower.
Like a few months ago, game consoles such as the PS5 and Xbox Series X have been out of stock, and it has been almost impossible to find one. Luckily, companies like Amazon have been implementing features such as “invitations.”
Amazon’s invitation feature allows genuine customers to request an invite to purchase certain low-stock products such as the PS5. This feature also allows Amazon to better distinguish between bots and actual consumers.
While this might be the start of the end, it doesn’t mean that things will instantly fix themselves. Graphics cards and game consoles only play a small part in the colossal global supply chain crisis. Gasoline prices are still on the rise, and baby formula has been sparse. Both of the mentioned examples affect most people. Parents can’t get their babies baby formula, and many adults are having difficulties getting from place A to place B without spending more than they should have.
In only four months, the supply chain shortage has gotten both better and worse. It has made some aspects of life harder and others easier.
