Complex supply chains only proved as resilient as their weakest link, resulting in bottlenecks and rising delivery lags. Disruptions to global trade were global and dramatic.2 Restrictions on activity persisted and demand rotated towards consumer goods, a surprise that quickly depleted industrial and retail inventories. The reopening was long and drawn out.
Firms struggled to re-hire employees laid off months earlier and labour force participation plummeted, eventually causing widespread labour shortages. Given this turmoil in the global economy, the Russian invasion of Ukraine was sure to roil markets and supply chains further, as unhelpful and tragic as it was incomprehensible. Not all these developments were outside the purview of policymakers.