After years of printing plants shutting down and going out of business, the demand to print books domestically now exceeds the available capacity. When publishers print books in the United States, those work force and transportation issues still apply, but they face other complications as well. On both paths, at virtually every step, there is a problem. To get a book printed and into customers’ hands, there are essentially two different supply chains.
Older books are also being affected as suppliers struggle to replenish them. Publishers are postponing some release dates because books aren’t where they need to be. The churning disruption in the global supply chain, which has touched everything from minivans to dishwashers to sweaters, has now reached the world of books, just as the holiday season - a crucial time for publishers, and a period that can make or break the entire year for an independent bookstore - approaches. “I spent the better part of a decade researching and writing this book,” Ms. When it made its debut on the New York Times best-seller list, the country’s largest book retailer didn’t have any copies.
Days after the release of Rebecca Donner’s book, “ All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days,” its hardcover edition sold out on Amazon, then at the online retailer and at Powell’s Books.
