A new indicator of supply-side constraints developed by Bloomberg Economics indicates that U.S. supply shortages remain close to a 20-year high. The Bloomberg Economics composite measure of supply constraints hit a two-decade high of 2.41 in June, inching down slightly to 2.19 in July and 1.86 in August, the most recent month of available data. Numbers above zero in the index represent a supply deficit, while negative numbers indicate a surplus. It’s a similar case in Europe, with the August eurozone supply constraint indicator at a 20-year high of 3.16, up from 2.87 in the prior month and 2.67 the month before that. A separate indicator that looks at U.S. category-level shortages paints a similar picture, with September 2021 data showing a slight easing in supply-side shortages—though still in deficit—in areas like the labor pool, backlog of orders, and supplier deliveries. The figures suggest a persistent supply crunch, with producers apparently …