When mobile-phone giant Nokia (NOK) reported a surprising third-quarter loss of $832 million Oct. 15, it placed some of the blame on shortages of handset components. "We would have sold more phones in the third quarter without the capacity constraints," declared Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo.

Suddenly, after a yearlong slump, there's a bounce back in demand for tech gizmos—everything from smartphones to laptop PCs. Market researcher Gartner (IT) had expected PC shipments to decline 5.6% in the third quarter but instead found that sales had increased by 0.5%. Now spot shortages are showing up in a wide range of components, including digital camera modules, LCD screens, and memory chips, because production was lowered dramatically during the recession. Think of the global tech industry as a huge machine that has been running at half speed but sputters and backfires as it throttles up.

The coming months could be tricky. Manufacturers must gauge demand accurately amid economic uncertainty. Their suppliers have to ramp up production without overshooting. The ones that manage supply chains best will come out ahead as the recession eases. "Most suppliers are in true survival mode, and they're going to be very conservative about expansion," says analyst Eric Pratt at tech market researcher iSuppli.

Read more in the October 22, 2009 Business Week