With the coming academic year seeing online classes prevalent at all levels of education from pre-school to post-graduate, schools and students find themselves searching for adequate quantities of laptops computers to meet their needs.

The shortage, according to the Associated Press, stems from an unprecedented demand for bulk purchases from school districts and universities to supply their students, but also from a shortage of materials needed to manufacture the computers brought on by President Trump’s trade war.

Lenovo, HP and Dell–the three largest computer manufacturers in the world–have told customers that they have a backlog of at least 5 million units.  The production delays stem, in part, from the lack of key components that would be made in China, with which Trump has imposed sanctions on some manufacturers it says uses forced labor. 

Lenovo, for one, uses a Chinese company to manufacture components or build complete units of some of the high demand models it sells.  Lenovo has pledged to find new contractors, but noted that it would add time to the schedule to fulfill delivery.

The announced delay, however, does not help schools that are in desperate need of the equipment.

“It’s a tough one because I’m not condoning child slave labor for computers, but can we not hurt more children in the process?” said Matt Bartenhagen, IT director for Williston Public Schools in North Dakota, a district of 4,600 waiting on an order for 2,000 Lenovo Chromebooks. “They were supposed to be delivered in July. Then August. Then late August. The current shipping estimate is ’hopefully’ by the end of the year.”