Supply chains in the U.S. arely recovering from early pandemic shocks, but more than three years have passed and the U.S. still faces material shortages and recruitment difficulties locally.

The past shocks have led to a surge in transportation costs and have compressed the supply of a variety of products from toilet paper to Italian dishes. But in recent years, as consumers have shifted spending from large items such as furniture, barbecue shelves and big screen TVs to tourism and other entertainment products, the cost of truck transportation, shipping and other transportation has dropped dramatically, giving some troubled shippers a chance to breathe.

However, Ryan Patel, senior researcher at Druk School of Management at Clemont Graduate University, said that there is still considerable chaos in the market. The labor market is still tense, leading to high costs. In addition, car manufacturers and other manufacturers are catching the pace of demand, plus the U.S. increased infrastructure projects, mechanical parts shortages remain, and cement is difficult to find.

Dean Croke, chief analyst at transportation data provider DAT Freight and Analytics, said the U.S. supply chain is experiencing a long-term downturn.

Mario Guerendo, head of the global supply chain at Cummins Inc., said: “Shipping costs and logistics costs are indeed falling dramatically, but we are still facing the question, ‘Where is my thing?’”

Alan Amling, a prominent researcher at the University of Tennessee Institute for Global Supply Chain Research, said that in the early days of the outbreak, supply chain executives kept inventories on shelves at all costs, but now they are cutting costs to protect profits from falling demand.

For example, Target is reducing the cost of shipping from stores by establishing an integrated center locally to reduce the cost of shipping and the number of orders delivered in packages.

Amling also said companies are investing in a variety of technologies, from tracking the movement of goods to robotics and artificial intelligence, to improve the efficiency of the supply chain.

He added: “We’re entering a new phase, from just trying to maintain livelihoods to returning to efficiency thinking patterns.

Although the U.S. supply chain is gradually recovering, it still faces a number of challenges, including material shortages and labor issues. Companies are looking for innovation and investment in technology to address these challenges and improve the efficiency and reliability of the supply chain.