The bullwhip effect describes the phenomenon in which a firm's orders to its suppliers are more variable than the firm's sales to its customers. As a result, in the presence of the bullwhip effect the variability of demand increases in a supply chain as one moves up the chain from retailer to manufacturer. Numerous causes of the phenomenon have been identified (e.g., positively correlated demand shocks, fixed ordering costs, price fluctuations), and, because demand variability generally deteriorate operational efficiency (excess inventory, poor capacity utlization, insufficient product availability, etc.), several counter measures have been proposed (e.g., vendor managed inventory, information sharing, everyday low pricing). Many examples of the bullwhip have been presented in the operations management literature and economists have consistently reported that production is more variable than sales in U.S. macro economic data. This research takes a fresh look at the evidence and finds that the effect does not appear to be widespread in the economy. Explanations are offered.