The real shame is globalization. If manufacturing occurred in Europe. In North America...etc. we’d all just quickly ramp up our respirator production.
Instead the west outsourced this to China
The second part is, optimized supply chains that are effectively as empty as possible, all the time.
Here in Canada an 18-day rail blockade by native bands was enough to cause serious concerns in the supply of propane and other fuels in the eastern part of the country.
It's shocking that eastern half of Canada, the majority of its population, faces winters with just 3-weeks supply of fuel. The reason? Nobody wants to carry inventory.
So for many things, we outsource creation, AND we optimize-away buffer stock.