Can makers were declared essential, so cans have been made throughout the pandemic. No issues there. Also, because of stringent measures around COVID prevention, few production lines have been affected by employees being out (for isolation safety or even positive cases).

And truthfully, there isn't a can shortage. There is a supply/demand issue for specific size cans. The issue is that, before COVID, beverage companies gave canmakers forecasts. Camakers prepared to supply them and were ready.

Then COVID hit, and all of a sudden beverage companies wanted more cans than originally requested. Lots of reasons for that, including bars that had to close could still sell beer in aluminum Crowlers - so there was a spike in demand for 32oz cans.

Bigger picture - cans were already growing like crazy. No one wants their beverages in plastic (or glass) anymore, for a variety of reasons. Canmakers have been building new plants and starting up new lines for several years now, after decades of little capacity investment. Cans are hot, and a good sustainable choice.

So ... canmakers are producing gobs of cans, more than ever before. But even that isn't enough for a pandemic-driven jump in demand in some sizes in some regions. Changing production schedules and moving business around has helped. But summer is the busiest time of year for camakers. That's when warehouses are emptied. And if beverage companies didn't request enough cans during the slower winter months, the cans aren't there like they would have been. So everyone is working hard to keep up.