Supply Constraints a Top Headache for US Firms as Outlook Dims

Supply-chain constraints continue to rank among the top headaches for US businesses, two reports showed, generating more anxiety about the outlook for the economy.

The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, covering economic conditions from mid-April through May 23, showed that contacts in all of the Fed’s 12 districts spanning Boston to San Francisco grappled with supply-chain issues that either limited their productive capacity, raised costs, muddled transport plans, curbed orders, crimped expansion or added to backlogs.