How the World Ran Out of Everything: Inside the Global Supply Chain

Part Michael Lewis, part The Way Things Work: From the New York Times's Global Economics Correspondent, an extraordinary journey to understand the worldwide supply chain--revealing both the incredible pathways of manufacturing and transportation that bring products to your doorstep, and the ruthless business logic that has left local communities at the mercy of a complex and fragile network for their basic necessities.

How does the wealthiest country on earth run out of protective gear in the middle of a public health catastrophe? How do its parents find themselves unable to locate crucially needed infant formula? How does its largest companies spend billions of dollars making cars that no one can drive for a lack of chips?

The last few years have radically showcased how intricate and fragile the global supply chain is. There were shipping vessels stuck at sea, warehouses overflowed, delivery trucks stalled. There was a scarcity of everything from breakfast cereal to medical devices, from frivolous goods to lifesaving necessities. As unprecedented as this time was, the reality is, while the pandemic might have shocked the system, the system was always at risk of descending into chaos. And it still is. Sabotaged by financial interests, loss of transparency in markets, and worsening working conditions for the people tasked with keeping the gears turning, our global supply chain has become perpetually on the brink of collapsing.

In How the World Ran Out of Everything, award-winning journalist Peter S. Goodman reveals the fascinating inner workings of our supply chain and the factors that have led to its constant, dangerous vulnerability. His reporting takes readers deep into the intricate system, showcasing the triumphs and struggles of the human players who operate it--from factories in Asia and an almond grower in Northern California, to a group of striking railroad workers in Texas, to a truck driver who Goodman rides along with across hundreds of miles of the Great Plains. Through their stories, Goodman weaves a powerful argument for reforming a supply chain to become truly reliable and resilient, demanding a radical redrawing of the bargain between labor and shareholders, and deeper attention paid to how we get the things we need.

From one of the most respected financial journalists working today, How the World Ran Out of Everything is a fiercely smart, deeply informative look at how our supply chain functions, and why its reform is not only necessary to avoid dysfunction in our day to day but to ensure the fate of our global economy.