Supply & Demand

It's not your imagination: Everyone is suddenly skating. As COVID-19 public health measures restricted indoor activities, outdoor recreation flourished, and people explored new ways of safely getting beyond their four walls and moving their bodies for physical and mental wellness.   Seems skating has gotten an extra boost, too, from TikTok and Instagram, where reels of neat tricks set to peppy music have inspired people to lace up some skates for the first time — or for the first time in a while. (That is, if they can find a pair: The Wall Street Journal reported in March that the roller skate supply chain is one of many that's been kinked up by a surge in demand.) Local skate parks, which have proliferated in recent years, have been bustling. We sent photographer Nic Antaya to some area skating hot spots to capture the view of the world on four wheels. It's a study of motion, merriment and crowds in public spaces again, in the best way. This story is part of a special report on Michigan's outdoor economy.  — Amy Elliott Bragg

During the second quarter, Tesla was affected by parts shortages and price increases for raw materials that plagued automakers generally.

A new service on the market allows families to sail without the hassle of owning a boat.

It's targeting premium travelers with more amenities

Homebuyers looking for a new spot to lay their head at night in Metro Detroit are competing for one of the limited number of houses for sale. But added to the mix: investors, who are also vying to buy homes from the same historically low pot. Their inverse goal: a spot for others to lay their heads…

Retail’s set up for a strong post-pandemic recovery

NEW YORK (AP) — Yummy, a 12-year-old Labrador retriever, is in Petco's San Diego offices so much he has his own title. “We call him the chief dog officer,” says CEO Ron Coughlin, the real top dog at Petco, who brings Yummy to work every day.

Welcome to the wacky world of U.S. car and truck sales, where the pandemic and a global shortage of computer chips have pushed prices to record levels.

Cashews are a good source of magnesium, zinc, selenium, iron, copper and potassium. If you're looking for bulk cashews, just click & shop @ Nutstop.com

At locations across the country, there have been complaints about shortages of key ingredients for popular drinks, breakfast foods and even cups, lids and straws.

NEW YORK (AP) — As Americans start to go out and update their wardrobes, jeans giant Levi Strauss & Co. is enjoying a resurgence in denim. That has helped the company upgrade its fiscal first-half outlook and has pushed shares of Levi’s about 30% higher so far this year.

How long will chicken reign supreme? Who wins between lemon and lime? Is nonfat ice cream really ice cream? Does grapefruit ever make a comeback? Find out in these charts.

The U.S. trade deficit is hitting record highs — and it's fueled by a surge in demand for imports, mostly from East Asia. On both land and at sea, the shipping industry is struggling to keep up.

This could be a good thing

And why economists changed their minds on the minimum wage

Openings in accommodation and food services saw the largest increase in new opportunities reported in April.

Chip shortages and other factors haven't helped, either.

The Girl Scouts have an unusual problem this year: 15 million boxes of unsold cookies. The 109-year-old organization says the coronavirus — not thinner demand for Thin Mints — is the main culprit.

Texas’s main power grid is currently dealing with more planned outages than normal at this time of year

Still, experts think the lumber market will run hot for years

Patrick and Sara McGuire have been growing apples since they were married 25 years ago. Their 150 acres in Ellsworth in northern Michigan— dubbed Royal Farms — are a mix of sweet apples and the bitter varieties suited for making hard cider.Last spring they put in a new crop of…

Global shortages of many goods reflect the disruption of the pandemic combined with decades of companies limiting their inventories.

Amid its own internal tumult, coupled with unheard of external market conditions, Credit Acceptance Corp. has seen its loan volumes take a dive off the cliff. The Southfield-based subprime auto lender (NASDA: CACC) disclosed in a regulatory filing this week that its May "Consumer Loan assignment…

The biggest threat to President Joe Biden's vision of energizing the U.S. economy with the largest infrastructure program in decades may not be its challenging path through Congress, but a dire shortage of everything from workers to cement mills.While weeks or months of negotiations will be needed…

Rising inventory is one of several signs that we may have reached peak ludicrousness.

Gardening stores are trying to keep shelves stocked as planting season gets underway.

A beachfront house in New Buffalo will set a new benchmark for the Southwest Michigan town when its sale closes within a few days of Memorial Day. It will be the fourth home in New Buffalo to sell for $4 million or more in the past year. That's a high-end sales rush New Buffalo hasn't…

Hilton was nearly 93% occupied on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, making it the best day the company has had since the start of the pandemic, its CEO says.

Potable toilet suppliers and manufacturers are scrambling to make sure that they have enough porta potties to go around.