The war game scenario conducted by a Washington think tank began with a sudden failure at three Taiwanese semiconductor foundries that make high-end computer chips used in such items as smartphones, automobiles and military equipment.

The halt in production raised questions of whether a cyberattack by Beijing was responsible — touching off an international crisis between China and the United States that the researchers said could grind the global economy to a halt and incite a military confrontation.

The war game and study by the Center for a New American Security, which is set to be released Thursday, illustrate how dependent the world is on Taiwanese computer chips — and how that dependence could draw the United States and China into various kinds of conflict.

The report comes as Congress has put new energy into bills to increase domestic production of semiconductors in the United States. Diversifying the global supply chain for computer chips is a key recommendation in the report.

Last week, President Joe Biden urged Congress to pass those bills and promised he would work to bring production of semiconductor chips back to the United States.

“Today we barely produce 10 per cent&nbsp;of the computer chips, despite being the leader in chip design and research,” Biden said. “And we don’t have the ability to make the most advanced chips now — right now. But today, 75% of production takes place in East Asia. Ninety per cent of the most advanced chips are made in Taiwan. China is doing everything it can to take over the global market so they can try to outcompete the rest of us and have a lot of applications — including military applications.”

Even if Congress approves new government investments in America’s microchip production capacities, matching Taiwanese expertise is years away, if it is even possible, the report’s authors say. The United States is already more dependent on Taiwan’s high-end microchips than it was on Middle Eastern oil in decades past, the report said.

China, the war game predicts, could use economic coercion, cyber operations and hybrid tactics to try to seize or harm Taiwan’s semiconductor industry — and the United States must become better able to identify and counter Chinese tactics that could threaten the microchip supply.

War games like this one involve current and former officials, academics and other experts sitting around a table playing various roles. After an initial scenario is presented, the teams take turns making strategic decisions. Such exercises are supposed to yield insights about how different players would act and lay plain what sort of moves each group might make.

Becca Wasser, who helped design and lead the scenario, said while many war games were conducted to study China, most focus on conventional military threats, giving short shrift to the many ways China could exert pressure on Taiwan.

And countering those pressure points is difficult, especially if the United States and Taiwan are at odds over the best strategy. In the scenario, the US&nbsp;team presumed the Taiwan team would go along with its strategies to counter China. But Taiwan’s interest sometimes led it to cross-purposes. For example, when the United States wanted to bring semiconductor engineers to the safety of America, Taiwan resisted, worried about a brain drain.

“Whatever the United States tried to do by itself in the game really fell flat,” Wasser said. “We have seen a variety of examples of that in real life.”

As a result, multilateral responses and global efforts to build resiliency in the supply chain for computer chips are most likely the best strategy, the report said.

Taiwan has relied on its dominance of the microchip industry for its defence. The “silicon shield” theory argued that because its semiconductor industry is so important to Chinese manufacturing and the US&nbsp;consumer economy, actions that threaten its foundries would be too risky.

Martijn Rasser, a co-author of the study and a former CIA analyst, said it was crucial for the international community to persuade Taiwan that its shield strategy needed to be internationalized. “The long-term play has to be a geographic dispersal of those capabilities out of Taiwan in exchange for enhanced security guarantees for the island,” he said.

The Biden administration has made clear that in the case of Ukraine, while the United States would economically punish Russia for any invasion, it would not commit troops to fight alongside Kyiv to stop any intervention by Moscow. The long-standing US&nbsp;policy toward Taiwan calls for shoring up its defences and practicing strategic ambiguity over whether Washington would militarily intervene in a conflict over the island.

But Taiwan and its semiconductors are far more important to America’s economy than Ukraine is — meaning it would very likely be far more difficult for the United States to stay out of a conflict involving Taiwan.

Taiwan accounts for half of the overall production of microchips that are critical to the functioning of mobile phones, consumer electronics, cars, military equipment and more. South Korea, the nearest competitor, has about 17% of the overall market. But Taiwanese chips are the smallest and fastest, and its foundries account for 92% of the most advanced designs.

“It’s almost impossible to duplicate Taiwan’s manufacturing capability of high-end chips, of low-end chips,” said Dan Blumenthal, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. “It’s just the manufacturing hub of the world.”

Although the United States and Europe are trying to boost their own domestic design and production of semiconductors, they do not have the abilities to mass produce the most advanced designs that the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company can make.

“If the semiconductor supply chain is infringed upon by China in some way, all of the sudden the things that Americans look to in their daily lives, to get to and from work, to call their loved ones, to do a variety of different things, those disappear,” Wasser said.

Other experts said it would be an overstatement to say that the United States would be dragged into a war over microchips. China would decide what kinds of coercive measures it would take against the Taiwanese based on the perceived threat to its sovereignty and the expected international backlog, said Bonny Lin of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“China is not going to base their Taiwan policy, or any decision to use force against Taiwan, based on chips,” Lin said. “China thinks about the costs of an invasion of Taiwan -&nbsp;there are significant political and military costs. That is why I don’t think chips would figure among the top three factors of using military force against Taiwan.”

The war game scenario conducted by a Washington think tank began with a sudden failure at three Taiwanese semiconductor foundries that make high-end computer chips used in such items as smartphones, automobiles and military equipment.

The war game scenario conducted by a Washington think tank began with a sudden failure at three Taiwanese semiconductor foundries that make high-end computer chips used in such items as smartphones, automobiles and military equipment. The halt in production raised questions of whether a cyberattack by Beijing was responsible — touching off an international crisis between China and the United States that the researchers said could grind the global economy to a halt and incite a military confrontation. The war game and study by the Center for a New American Security, which is set to be released Thursday, illustrate how dependent the world is on Taiwanese computer chips — and how that dependence could draw the United States and China into various kinds of conflict. The report comes as Congress has put new energy into bills to increase domestic production of semiconductors in the United States. Diversifying the global supply chain for computer chips is a key recommendation in the report. Last week, President Joe Biden urged Congress to pass those bills and promised he would work to bring production of semiconductor chips back to the United States. “Today we barely produce 10 per cent of the computer chips, despite being the leader in chip design and research,” Biden said. “And we don’t have the ability to make the most advanced chips now — right now. But today, 75% of production takes place in East Asia. Ninety per cent of the most advanced chips are made in Taiwan. China is doing everything it can to take over the global market so they can try to outcompete the rest of us and have a lot of applications — including military applications.” Even if Congress approves new government investments in America’s microchip production capacities, matching Taiwanese expertise is years away, if it is even possible, the report’s authors say. The United States is already more dependent on Taiwan’s high-end microchips than it was on Middle Eastern oil in decades past, the report said. China, the war game predicts, could use economic coercion, cyber operations and hybrid tactics to try to seize or harm Taiwan’s semiconductor industry — and the United States must become better able to identify and counter Chinese tactics that could threaten the microchip supply. War games like this one involve current and former officials, academics and other experts sitting around a table playing various roles. After an initial scenario is presented, the teams take turns making strategic decisions. Such exercises are supposed to yield insights about how different players would act and lay plain what sort of moves each group might make. Becca Wasser, who helped design and lead the scenario, said while many war games were conducted to study China, most focus on conventional military threats, giving short shrift to the many ways China could exert pressure on Taiwan. And countering those pressure points is difficult, especially if the United States and Taiwan are at odds over the best strategy. In the scenario, the US team presumed the Taiwan team would go along with its strategies to counter China. But Taiwan’s interest sometimes led it to cross-purposes. For example, when the United States wanted to bring semiconductor engineers to the safety of America, Taiwan resisted, worried about a brain drain. “Whatever the United States tried to do by itself in the game really fell flat,” Wasser said. “We have seen a variety of examples of that in real life.” As a result, multilateral responses and global efforts to build resiliency in the supply chain for computer chips are most likely the best strategy, the report said. Taiwan has relied on its dominance of the microchip industry for its defence. The “silicon shield” theory argued that because its semiconductor industry is so important to Chinese manufacturing and the US consumer economy, actions that threaten its foundries would be too risky. Martijn Rasser, a co-author of the study and a former CIA analyst, said it was crucial for the international community to persuade Taiwan that its shield strategy needed to be internationalized. “The long-term play has to be a geographic dispersal of those capabilities out of Taiwan in exchange for enhanced security guarantees for the island,” he said. The Biden administration has made clear that in the case of Ukraine, while the United States would economically punish Russia for any invasion, it would not commit troops to fight alongside Kyiv to stop any intervention by Moscow. The long-standing US policy toward Taiwan calls for shoring up its defences and practicing strategic ambiguity over whether Washington would militarily intervene in a conflict over the island. But Taiwan and its semiconductors are far more important to America’s economy than Ukraine is — meaning it would very likely be far more difficult for the United States to stay out of a conflict involving Taiwan. Taiwan accounts for half of the overall production of microchips that are critical to the functioning of mobile phones, consumer electronics, cars, military equipment and more. South Korea, the nearest competitor, has about 17% of the overall market. But Taiwanese chips are the smallest and fastest, and its foundries account for 92% of the most advanced designs. “It’s almost impossible to duplicate Taiwan’s manufacturing capability of high-end chips, of low-end chips,” said Dan Blumenthal, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. “It’s just the manufacturing hub of the world.” Although the United States and Europe are trying to boost their own domestic design and production of semiconductors, they do not have the abilities to mass produce the most advanced designs that the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company can make. “If the semiconductor supply chain is infringed upon by China in some way, all of the sudden the things that Americans look to in their daily lives, to get to and from work, to call their loved ones, to do a variety of different things, those disappear,” Wasser said. Other experts said it would be an overstatement to say that the United States would be dragged into a war over microchips. China would decide what kinds of coercive measures it would take against the Taiwanese based on the perceived threat to its sovereignty and the expected international backlog, said Bonny Lin of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “China is not going to base their Taiwan policy, or any decision to use force against Taiwan, based on chips,” Lin said. “China thinks about the costs of an invasion of Taiwan - there are significant political and military costs. That is why I don’t think chips would figure among the top three factors of using military force against Taiwan.”

How computer chip shortage could incite US conflict with China

A new kind of chip shortage has hit Japanese supply chains, with&nbsp;McDonald's&nbsp;forced to ration fries in the country as Covid-19 and floods in Canada squeeze potato imports.

McDonald's&nbsp;Japan said it will only sell small-sized French fries for a week from Friday to avoid shortages.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/drink-milk-japan-urges-people-as-huge-wastage-looms-439074">Drink milk, Japan urges people as huge wastage looms</a>

"Due to large-scale flooding near the Port&nbsp;of&nbsp;Vancouver... and the global supply chain crunch caused by the coronavirus pandemic, there are delays in the supply of potatoes," it said in a statement on Tuesday.

The company said it has taken the measure to ensure that customers can still order fries, even though the "stable procurement of resource materials" is proving difficult.

The restriction comes during the busy year-end period, with schools and offices beginning to close for the holidays.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/japan-hangs-3-defends-capital-punishment-calls-it-necessary-for-atrocious-crimes-438987">Japan hangs 3, defends 'capital punishment', calls it necessary for 'atrocious crimes'</a>

It will also be in place on Christmas Day -- commonly celebrated in Japan with a hearty serving of another US fast-food behemoth, Kentucky Fried Chicken, which is heavily marketed around the festive period.

Meanwhile, a pandemic-fuelled global microchip shortage continues to plague auto giants including Japan's Toyota, which has announced production cuts due to the crisis and supply chain issues in Southeast Asia.

A new kind of chip shortage has hit Japanese supply chains, with McDonald's forced to ration fries in the country as Covid-19 and floods in Canada squeeze potato imports.

A new kind of chip shortage has hit Japanese supply chains, with McDonald's forced to ration fries in the country as Covid-19 and floods in Canada squeeze potato imports. McDonald's Japan said it will only sell small-sized French fries for a week from Friday to avoid shortages. Also read | Drink milk, Japan urges people as huge wastage looms "Due to large-scale flooding near the Port of Vancouver... and the global supply chain crunch caused by the coronavirus pandemic, there are delays in the supply of potatoes," it said in a statement on Tuesday. The company said it has taken the measure to ensure that customers can still order fries, even though the "stable procurement of resource materials" is proving difficult. The restriction comes during the busy year-end period, with schools and offices beginning to close for the holidays. Also read | Japan hangs 3, defends 'capital punishment', calls it necessary for 'atrocious crimes' It will also be in place on Christmas Day -- commonly celebrated in Japan with a hearty serving of another US fast-food behemoth, Kentucky Fried Chicken, which is heavily marketed around the festive period. Meanwhile, a pandemic-fuelled global microchip shortage continues to plague auto giants including Japan's Toyota, which has announced production cuts due to the crisis and supply chain issues in Southeast Asia.

Now, supply chain disruption hits McDonald's in Japan; French fries take a hit

China's state-run Global Times quoting a top official of the machinery industry federation reported that the country's car production would be down by 2 million units due to the shortage of chips.

Global Times while quoting the executive vice president of the federation reported that "software, special raw materials&nbsp;and precision instrumentation" including industrial sensors which rely on imports will also be hit due to "natural calamities and man-made misfortune."&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-christmas-food-chocolate-bar-bounty-falls-prey-to-supply-chain-crisis-418620">Also Read:&nbsp;After Christmas food, chocolate bar Bounty falls prey to supply chain crisis</a>

The Chinese newspaper informed that country's auto&nbsp;sales and production fell for "five consecutive months" between May to September.

The chip shortage could also impact other sectors including the manufacturing of mobiles, home appliances and computers, it informed.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/vietnam-lockdown-hits-iphone-delivery-shoe-car-companies-also-suffer-416794">Also Read:&nbsp;Vietnam lockdown hits iPhone delivery; shoe &amp; car companies also suffer</a>

The US government had earlier blacklisted China's biggest chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) over security concerns. SMIC recently announced it will open a semiconductor plant in Shanghai after announcing plans to build smaller semiconductor factories in Beijing and Shenzhen.&nbsp;

Reports claimed Apple was unlikely to meet its production target due to the global electronic chip shortage.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/transport-chiefs-warn-world-leaders-and-un-about-incoming-collapse-of-global-supply-chain-417077">Also Read:&nbsp;Transport chiefs warn world leaders and UN about incoming collapse of global supply chain</a>

Amid the global chip shortage, Taiwan's TSMC had said earlier it was working to address the global semiconductor shortage and was taking "unprecedented actions" even as US commerce secretary Gina Raimondo had said last month "it's time to get more aggressive".

Raimondo however added that there is "no quick and easy fix" while cautioning that the problem may spill into next year.

(With inputs from Agencies)

China's state-run Global Times quoting a top official of the machinery industry federation reported that the country's car production would be down by 2 million units due to the shortage of chips.

China's state-run Global Times quoting a top official of the machinery industry federation reported that the country's car production would be down by 2 million units due to the shortage of chips. Global Times while quoting the executive vice president of the federation reported that "software, special raw materials and precision instrumentation" including industrial sensors which rely on imports will also be hit due to "natural calamities and man-made misfortune." Also Read: After Christmas food, chocolate bar Bounty falls prey to supply chain crisis The Chinese newspaper informed that country's auto sales and production fell for "five consecutive months" between May to September. The chip shortage could also impact other sectors including the manufacturing of mobiles, home appliances and computers, it informed. Also Read: Vietnam lockdown hits iPhone delivery; shoe & car companies also suffer The US government had earlier blacklisted China's biggest chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) over security concerns. SMIC recently announced it will open a semiconductor plant in Shanghai after announcing plans to build smaller semiconductor factories in Beijing and Shenzhen. Reports claimed Apple was unlikely to meet its production target due to the global electronic chip shortage. Also Read: Transport chiefs warn world leaders and UN about incoming collapse of global supply chain Amid the global chip shortage, Taiwan's TSMC had said earlier it was working to address the global semiconductor shortage and was taking "unprecedented actions" even as US commerce secretary Gina Raimondo had said last month "it's time to get more aggressive". Raimondo however added that there is "no quick and easy fix" while cautioning that the problem may spill into next year. (With inputs from Agencies)

Car production in China set to decline by 2 million due to chip shortage: Report

In the face of bewildering and enduring shortages of goods throughout the global economy, even aid organizations like food banks and clothing distributors are caught in the chaos. Many are struggling to secure what they need, amplifying scarcity in vulnerable communities.

In Haiti, one of the world’s poorest countries, an effort to increase household incomes is confronting a new problem stemming from the global supply chain upheaval — a shortage of shoes.

The Haitian American Caucus, a nonprofit organization, imports donated, used shoes from the United States and sells them at low cost to women who hawk them on sidewalks and in markets, earning crucial cash for their families.

The caucus is distributing almost 100,000 pairs of shoes a month, but it could manage four times as many if only more inventory arrived, said its executive director, Samuel Darguin.

“That pair of shoes represents so much more,” he said. “It represents a mother being able to send a kid to school, being able to afford health care and feed her family maybe two meals a day instead of one.”

Two years into a relentless pandemic, the world economy remains awash in logistical difficulties. Factories in Asia are struggling to satisfy demand for their products. Ports are short of shipping containers and healthy hands to unload them. Trucks are idled for lack of drivers, with warehouses overwhelmed by goods.

That upheaval may seem far removed from Haiti, but it helps explain why Darguin’s program is waiting for more shoes.

Already this year, Haiti has suffered a calamitous earthquake and a presidential assassination, to say nothing of a lethal pandemic combined with the strains of everyday life in a country where people can take little for granted. The Great Supply Chain Disruption is now adding to the strain.

Darguin’s supplier of shoes, a nonprofit based in Nashville, Tennessee, called Soles4Souls, is itself suffering shortages of footwear as manufacturers that donate inventory keep more of it in a frantic bid to satisfy retail customers.

The upending of the global supply chain continues to be a grave problem for multinational brands that sell wares to customers and shoppers who cannot secure what they want — whether it be lumber, new cars or exercise bikes. But product shortages and shipping impediments have proved so persistent and pervasive that they are also afflicting organizations that rely on donated goods. Their troubles underscore how the supply chain disorder is rippling out across vast distances, reaching a pipeline of aid that is ordinarily invisible to the wider world.

Enormous retailers like Target, Nike and Home Depot — all of which have acknowledged problems stocking shelves — can afford to stockpile goods. And they can pay extra to ensure that their products gain passage on overbooked cargo ships, even as fares on routes from China to the West Coast of the United States have increased tenfold over the course of the pandemic.

But nonprofit organizations lack such means. They are like economy-class passengers stuck at an airport after a blizzard, watching the first-class customers grab all the available seats out.

In Jacksonville, Florida, Teri Ketchum, chief executive of Presbyterian Social Ministries, collects donated children’s clothing and distributes it to community agencies in her region and as far away as the Philippines.

Last year, with people stuck at home in pandemic lockdowns, many emptied out basements and closets, creating a surge of donated clothing. This year, as schools have reopened, the demand for children’s clothing has exhausted Ketchum’s supply.

“At least once a week, some local partner calls to say, ‘Have you got any kids’ clothes,’ and we have to say, ‘No, we just don’t have it,’ ” she said.

The shortages are coinciding with the ending of many government relief programs for people whose livelihoods have been hurt by the pandemic — like emergency unemployment benefits and eviction moratoriums protecting those behind on their rent.

“If people were struggling before, they are just at rock bottom right now,” Ketchum said. “Now, it’s, ‘Do I buy food, or do I buy clothes?’ Clothes is the last thing that a parent who is already stretched is going to do.”

Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee oversees a food-distribution operation serving about 400,000 people in 46 counties, relying on donations from grocery stores in the area. Second Harvest also distributes purchased food at low cost to sister organizations across the country.

During the first waves of the pandemic, as families sequestered at home cooked more, demand for groceries soared, depleting the shelves of local supermarkets and resulting in fewer donations. That prompted Second Harvest to buy more groceries.

But given the shortage of supplies, the organization has had to widen its sights significantly, bringing in pasta and macaroni and cheese from Thailand and India.

In recent months, Second Harvest has shifted back to domestic suppliers, but it has still encountered delays on its orders as food-processing companies are slowed by difficulties in importing ingredients.

Unable to find low-sodium green beans — a popular item — Second Harvest has instead distributed the ordinary variety, while counseling recipients who must watch their salt intake to rinse the beans before cooking. When can shortages made it impossible to buy spaghetti sauce, Second Harvest found a restaurant supplier who had extra volumes of bulk sauce packaged in plastic bags.

“We have a trailerload of pasta that has to go to Denver, and it’s two weeks late,” said Nancy Keil, the organization’s president and chief executive. “It's like a moving target. You don’t know where you’re going to be short next.”

In Nashville, Soles4Souls — the organization that supplies Darguin’s program in Haiti — has been forced to scale back plans to distribute shoes to homeless children in schools across the United States.

Known as 4EveryKid, the program aimed to distribute 75,000 pairs of shoes to homeless students this year, but it has lowered the target to 50,000.

“Some kids actually don’t come to school if they don’t have a pair of shoes to wear, especially when the weather gets really bad,” said Cathy Klein, homeless coordinator for the Milwaukee Public Schools, which expects to receive 1,000 pairs of shoes this year via the 4EveryKid program.

Soles4Souls depends on contributions of new shoes from major footwear companies. As the companies have struggled to satisfy retail orders, they have sharply curtailed charitable contributions.

“Typically, we get product that’s excess,” said Rod Arnold, Soles4Souls’ chief marketing officer. “Everyone is just saying, ‘We are selling everything we can get our hands on.’ ”

Early this year, a shortage of shipping containers in Chinese ports slowed the loading of factory goods while increasing shipping costs. Then came the closing of the Suez Canal — a major corridor linking Asia to Europe. Since May, Chinese authorities have temporarily shut operations at two major container ports.

In recent weeks, Vietnam — a major manufacturer of footwear — has imposed a strict lockdown to choke off the spread of the coronavirus. That has stopped production while delaying the shipment of finished shoes.

“What we’re hearing from our partners and donors is, ‘We want to help you. We believe in what you do. There’s just not the product. We don’t have it,' " said Buddy Teaster, chief executive of Soles4Souls. “They have got other stuff that they are prioritizing.”

There’s also the soaring cost of trucking, which is impeding shipments of used shoes like those destined for Haiti.

Before the pandemic, moving a truckload of shoes from California to the Soles4Souls main warehouse in Alabama cost $2,500 and took perhaps four days, Teaster said. Now, it costs as much as $7,000 and can require two weeks.

The same dynamic on the ocean has sabotaged the workings of Soles4Souls’ partners around the globe.

The organization has often served as a matchmaker, brokering shipments of mislabeled batches of shoes and clothing from factories in Asia to thrift stores in Transnistria, a breakaway state in Moldova. The thrift stores provide careers to young people who grew up in orphanages.

But as the price of shipping a container from Vietnam to Ukraine has swelled fivefold, the thrift stores have had to sharply curtail their purchases.

“The nonprofit is quite literally at the end of the line in terms of what we can afford,” said Mike Shirey, Soles4Souls chief operating officer. “People aren’t bringing in the quantities of goods that they used to.”

In the face of bewildering and enduring shortages of goods throughout the global economy, even aid organizations like food banks and clothing distributors are caught in the chaos.

In the face of bewildering and enduring shortages of goods throughout the global economy, even aid organizations like food banks and clothing distributors are caught in the chaos. Many are struggling to secure what they need, amplifying scarcity in vulnerable communities. In Haiti, one of the world’s poorest countries, an effort to increase household incomes is confronting a new problem stemming from the global supply chain upheaval — a shortage of shoes. The Haitian American Caucus, a nonprofit organization, imports donated, used shoes from the United States and sells them at low cost to women who hawk them on sidewalks and in markets, earning crucial cash for their families. The caucus is distributing almost 100,000 pairs of shoes a month, but it could manage four times as many if only more inventory arrived, said its executive director, Samuel Darguin. “That pair of shoes represents so much more,” he said. “It represents a mother being able to send a kid to school, being able to afford health care and feed her family maybe two meals a day instead of one.” Two years into a relentless pandemic, the world economy remains awash in logistical difficulties. Factories in Asia are struggling to satisfy demand for their products. Ports are short of shipping containers and healthy hands to unload them. Trucks are idled for lack of drivers, with warehouses overwhelmed by goods. That upheaval may seem far removed from Haiti, but it helps explain why Darguin’s program is waiting for more shoes. Already this year, Haiti has suffered a calamitous earthquake and a presidential assassination, to say nothing of a lethal pandemic combined with the strains of everyday life in a country where people can take little for granted. The Great Supply Chain Disruption is now adding to the strain. Darguin’s supplier of shoes, a nonprofit based in Nashville, Tennessee, called Soles4Souls, is itself suffering shortages of footwear as manufacturers that donate inventory keep more of it in a frantic bid to satisfy retail customers. The upending of the global supply chain continues to be a grave problem for multinational brands that sell wares to customers and shoppers who cannot secure what they want — whether it be lumber, new cars or exercise bikes. But product shortages and shipping impediments have proved so persistent and pervasive that they are also afflicting organizations that rely on donated goods. Their troubles underscore how the supply chain disorder is rippling out across vast distances, reaching a pipeline of aid that is ordinarily invisible to the wider world. Enormous retailers like Target, Nike and Home Depot — all of which have acknowledged problems stocking shelves — can afford to stockpile goods. And they can pay extra to ensure that their products gain passage on overbooked cargo ships, even as fares on routes from China to the West Coast of the United States have increased tenfold over the course of the pandemic. But nonprofit organizations lack such means. They are like economy-class passengers stuck at an airport after a blizzard, watching the first-class customers grab all the available seats out. In Jacksonville, Florida, Teri Ketchum, chief executive of Presbyterian Social Ministries, collects donated children’s clothing and distributes it to community agencies in her region and as far away as the Philippines. Last year, with people stuck at home in pandemic lockdowns, many emptied out basements and closets, creating a surge of donated clothing. This year, as schools have reopened, the demand for children’s clothing has exhausted Ketchum’s supply. “At least once a week, some local partner calls to say, ‘Have you got any kids’ clothes,’ and we have to say, ‘No, we just don’t have it,’ ” she said. The shortages are coinciding with the ending of many government relief programs for people whose livelihoods have been hurt by the pandemic — like emergency unemployment benefits and eviction moratoriums protecting those behind on their rent. “If people were struggling before, they are just at rock bottom right now,” Ketchum said. “Now, it’s, ‘Do I buy food, or do I buy clothes?’ Clothes is the last thing that a parent who is already stretched is going to do.” Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee oversees a food-distribution operation serving about 400,000 people in 46 counties, relying on donations from grocery stores in the area. Second Harvest also distributes purchased food at low cost to sister organizations across the country. During the first waves of the pandemic, as families sequestered at home cooked more, demand for groceries soared, depleting the shelves of local supermarkets and resulting in fewer donations. That prompted Second Harvest to buy more groceries. But given the shortage of supplies, the organization has had to widen its sights significantly, bringing in pasta and macaroni and cheese from Thailand and India. In recent months, Second Harvest has shifted back to domestic suppliers, but it has still encountered delays on its orders as food-processing companies are slowed by difficulties in importing ingredients. Unable to find low-sodium green beans — a popular item — Second Harvest has instead distributed the ordinary variety, while counseling recipients who must watch their salt intake to rinse the beans before cooking. When can shortages made it impossible to buy spaghetti sauce, Second Harvest found a restaurant supplier who had extra volumes of bulk sauce packaged in plastic bags. “We have a trailerload of pasta that has to go to Denver, and it’s two weeks late,” said Nancy Keil, the organization’s president and chief executive. “It's like a moving target. You don’t know where you’re going to be short next.” In Nashville, Soles4Souls — the organization that supplies Darguin’s program in Haiti — has been forced to scale back plans to distribute shoes to homeless children in schools across the United States. Known as 4EveryKid, the program aimed to distribute 75,000 pairs of shoes to homeless students this year, but it has lowered the target to 50,000. “Some kids actually don’t come to school if they don’t have a pair of shoes to wear, especially when the weather gets really bad,” said Cathy Klein, homeless coordinator for the Milwaukee Public Schools, which expects to receive 1,000 pairs of shoes this year via the 4EveryKid program. Soles4Souls depends on contributions of new shoes from major footwear companies. As the companies have struggled to satisfy retail orders, they have sharply curtailed charitable contributions. “Typically, we get product that’s excess,” said Rod Arnold, Soles4Souls’ chief marketing officer. “Everyone is just saying, ‘We are selling everything we can get our hands on.’ ” Early this year, a shortage of shipping containers in Chinese ports slowed the loading of factory goods while increasing shipping costs. Then came the closing of the Suez Canal — a major corridor linking Asia to Europe. Since May, Chinese authorities have temporarily shut operations at two major container ports. In recent weeks, Vietnam — a major manufacturer of footwear — has imposed a strict lockdown to choke off the spread of the coronavirus. That has stopped production while delaying the shipment of finished shoes. “What we’re hearing from our partners and donors is, ‘We want to help you. We believe in what you do. There’s just not the product. We don’t have it,' " said Buddy Teaster, chief executive of Soles4Souls. “They have got other stuff that they are prioritizing.” There’s also the soaring cost of trucking, which is impeding shipments of used shoes like those destined for Haiti. Before the pandemic, moving a truckload of shoes from California to the Soles4Souls main warehouse in Alabama cost $2,500 and took perhaps four days, Teaster said. Now, it costs as much as $7,000 and can require two weeks. The same dynamic on the ocean has sabotaged the workings of Soles4Souls’ partners around the globe. The organization has often served as a matchmaker, brokering shipments of mislabeled batches of shoes and clothing from factories in Asia to thrift stores in Transnistria, a breakaway state in Moldova. The thrift stores provide careers to young people who grew up in orphanages. But as the price of shipping a container from Vietnam to Ukraine has swelled fivefold, the thrift stores have had to sharply curtail their purchases. “The nonprofit is quite literally at the end of the line in terms of what we can afford,” said Mike Shirey, Soles4Souls chief operating officer. “People aren’t bringing in the quantities of goods that they used to.”