Millions of families face a toxic mix of product shortages and spiralling prices as the supply squeeze becomes a crisis.
Goods from food to semiconductors and building materials continue to be in chronically short supply.
This has caused some prices to leap by nearly 20 times the rate of inflation.
Outgoing Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane recently warned of “dangerous” inflation.
And a lack of lorry drivers and farm workers, as well as soaring shipping costs, may make things worse.
Nearly eight out of 10 food suppliers fear staff shortages this year.
Supermarkets have largely managed until now but it is feared there could be bigger gaps on shelves within weeks.
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Retail analyst Clive Black, of broker Shore Capital, said: “You may not have seen wholesale empty shelves but there are more gaps already.”
And he warned of “progressively larger price rises” for groceries as the crisis deepens.
Shoppers recently took to social media to report a lack of bottled water in some stores, while the prices of many other everyday food products have rocketed.
According to data from the Office for National Statistics, the cost of dessert apples shot up 17% in the past year, and pears and unleaded petrol jumped by a fifth.
Covid travel rules and labour shortages due to European workers staying home have hit a wide range of areas.
Industry giant Premier Foods, which makes Mr Kipling cakes and Bisto gravy, has called on the Government to use the Army to distribute goods amid a shortage of around 100,000 truckers.
Lengthy lockdowns, here and abroad, have also caused a backlog of factory orders which may take years to fully unwind.
Supplies of construction materials have been hit amid a boom in home improvements.
Kingfisher, owner of DIY chain B&Q, told the Mirror that stock availability is an “industry-wide phenomenon” that would continue “for at least the next few months”.
And sales of home gadgets have also jumped, leading to a scramble among manufacturers for semiconductors.
The British Chambers of Commerce says that 58% of manufacturers upped prices between April and June.
