Ocean shipping powers our ability to buy a variety of inexpensive stuff. The surge in shipping costs points to our shortage of semiconductors, lumber, chicken, chlorine, and, really, "just about everything."
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Why the world is in a shipping crisis
The pandemic wrecked the supply chain last year, and the shipping companies that move stuff all over the world still haven't recovered. Things necessary for ocean shipping to function properly — like massive ships, containers, and ports — have all broken at some point in the last year and a half. And some are still broken. Here's how that happened and why the shortages are still going on.