Uncertainty may also lead to an opposite situation. Because of changes in market values, costs of other factors, or new technological discoveries, an existing capital good—such as a new plant—may cease to have value, at least in its originally intended function. For instance, a plant built to produce phonograph records may become obsolete because of the introduction of compact discs. Since value is always based on utility in the present context, the producers' original plans for the plant are irrelevant to current decisions regarding its use. In this unforeseen (and possibly unforeseeable) situation, the plant may have to be converted to other uses or even lie idle. This reallocation or non-allocation may lead the uninformed observer to condemn the "wastefulness" and "irrationality" of the market. Within the context of present knowledge and present value scales, however, it is indeed the most rational disposition for the plant.

In the long run, of course, producers attempt to avoid such problems:

They attempt to build flexibility into their plans in order to minimize losses from unforeseeable circumstances;
They seek to increase the amount of relevant information available to their decisions.

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