Here’s one of the times the CEO of Glowforge has addressed the Proofgrade material shortages:
“But at the same time that we’ve been having record print volumes, we’ve been having record challenges in keeping Proofgrade materials in stock. Our operations team has been working long hours to keep our factory open, and can no longer travel to meet with suppliers. There’s a global acrylic shortage . Suppliers of wood, leather, and other products are experiencing their own challenges with staffing because of the crisis. We apologize. We’re working to keep a variety of materials in stock, but we don’t know how soon stock levels will return to normal.”
I can tell you that my pre-pandemic acrylic supplier is still on a 4-week delay filling orders because of shortages, my favorite plywood supplier hasn’t been able to keep his full catalog in-stock in months, and there’s now a shortage of 1/8" MDF (aka Draftboard) as well. Supply chains are a mess in so many industries right now. COVID is the primary reason.