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Labor Unrest Disrupts Supply Chains From Sky to Sea

Add unhappy and ill workers to the list of culprits for supply-chain tangles

Trucks lined up next to shipping containers idled due to Russia sanctions, at the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands in March.

Trucks lined up next to shipping containers idled due to Russia sanctions, at the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands in March.

Photographer: Peter Boer/Bloomberg

Each wave of supply shock to hit the global economy during the pandemic seems to produce a different scapegoat.

First came the shipping container shortage of late 2020, caused largely by American consumers stocking up on everything from backyard games to home-office equipment.