Economics, 3rd Edition

Market Supply versus Individual Supply

Just as market demand is the sum of the demands of all buyers, market supply is the sum of the supplies 

of all sellers. The table in Figure 3.5 shows the supply schedules for two milk producers – Richard and 

Megan. At any price, Richard’s supply schedule tells us the quantity of milk Richard is willing to supply, and 

Megan’s supply schedule tells us the quantity of milk Megan is willing to supply. The market supply is the 

sum of the two individual supplies.

The graph in Figure 3.5 shows the supply curves that correspond to the supply schedules. As with 

demand curves, we find the total quantity supplied at any price by adding the individual quantities found 

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CHAPTER 3  THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND  51