Global logistics congestion, elevated shipping rates and shortages across supply chains have been driven by a collision between a surge in consumer demand and fixed availability of air, ocean and trucking freight capacity. In the classic “bullwhip effect,” fluctuations in demand can first cause shortages, then overstocking of inventory, followed by a sharp dropoff in orders. Is that what we’re seeing now? Does that portend the end of tight pandemic shipping conditions? Or will packed ships and stressed supply chains persist? We sort through the latest evidence.