How can suppliers impact supply if they do not have the ability to drastically changes prices?

ENGR.ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
14th Edition
ISBN:9780190931919
Author:NEWNAN
Publisher:NEWNAN
Chapter1: Making Economics Decisions
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How can suppliers impact supply if they do not have the ability to drastically changes prices?

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There are numerous ways in which suppliers can alter the supply (increase or reduce it) by not changing the price. These are as follows:

Capacity and Technology
An increase in supply also occurs if there are numerous producers for a product or service. Some observers of the business scene have argued that the telecommunications industry has too many providers, which contributed to the overcapacity. Indeed, an oversized number of producers in any industry adds capacity, which causes supply to extend. Finally, technological developments can cause a shift in supply. Returning to our beef example, suppose the industry develops better methods of feeding cattle or controlling disease. Or suppose more efficient processing and shipping technologies come along. Under those circumstances, the number supplied for a given price would increase.

The converse of those factors also holds true. insufficient capacity, a paucity of producers, or lack of technological innovation will decrease the provision.

Cost Structure
If the price of any factor of production—labor, raw materials, equipment—decreases, the amount that producers are willing (and able) to provide at a given price increases. Producers with lower costs will always be ready to supply more of a product at a given price than those with higher costs. Therefore, a decrease in producers' costs will increase the availability.

Conversely, if production costs increase, the number supplied at a given price will decrease. Higher costs mean that producers will need to produce less to be able sell a product at a given price. Essentially, consumers will resist the upper prices, and will move to substitutes, do without the merchandise, or buy from a more efficient producer.

 

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