Since mid-2021, issues with semiconductor chip availability have limited the production of a variety of electronic and automobile items.

The firms closest to the consumer will increase inventory in response to rising demand. The front end of the supply chain will reduce inventory when demand declines, compounding the extra inventory on each company further up the supply chain.

BL must be revised to reflect modifications to the destination ports and the descriptions of the cargo, or in which shippers may wish to omit the supplier's name from the bill.