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09-27-2020 12:13 PM
I'm having issues getting some things. Mostly anything Clorox. I use the round toilet cleaners and you can't get those or wipes, I might be able to for in store purchase but nothing for pickup or delivery. I think people hoard stuff and sell those things on amazon for a lot higher price. Even Mrs Meyers cleaning stuff seems low and when I look on amazon they have a lot but it's all way overpriced.
09-27-2020 04:13 PM
There was an indepth article around 2 weeks ago in The Atlantic that discussed various shortages being experienced in the United States.
It was an interesting article and detailed the major issues and how they have somewhat combined in some cases to exacerbate problems companies were/are experiencing.
Of course it starts about how China was hit first and production lines abruptly stopped in that country. Some U.S. companies were able to quickly move to other suppliers in other countries such as Vietnam, India, etc. But then those countries were hit and had to close their factories. Just as we were facing shutdowns here, most of the countries abroad were still struggling with shutdowns. There were instances in which some companies had inventory in warehouses, but it quickly dwindled.
Then there were problems with shipping. I don't remember all the specifics but shipping companies needed to provide schedules for their employees on those ships and provide time off in their countries before doing another round of ocean travel. Those countries then had quarantines so that the employees had to quarantine for longer periods of time than their break would have been without the pandemic. That resulted in numerous countries not being able to drive ship traffic before the virus and produced a back log of being able to ship products. In fact, it really didn't matter, most of them faced quarantine regulations no matter what country they would select to spend their required downtime before another trip.
In the U.S., companies might receive products but then there was a shortage of packaging supplies such as cardboard, plastic, etc. So they had the product, but not enough materials for packaging.
Add to those problems that many factories faced having to operate with lower numbers of employees due to having contracted covid-19 or were in quarantine. In some cases in order to space employees out, they had to reduce the number of employees in a certain area.
They also discussed the problem with staffing at warehouses. There were truckers that were able to deliver their product, but since warehouses were short on employees, there were long lines of trucks to offload their load due to the warehouses having fewer employees.
Then add severe weather conditions, hurricanes and fires into the mix and some problems were even further exacerbated.
It was a revealing article that the problems were multi-faceted and while getting better they are still not completely resolved. So I don't think the total reason for shortages is due to people hoarding.
09-27-2020 04:22 PM
I did my once every 3 weeks grocery shopping today and for the first time in 6+ months I found everything on my list including Lysol wipes. "Funny" how happy it made me feel. To make me even happier the parking lot at 7:00 a.m. was half empty unlike previous weeks where it was abnormally full at the same time.
09-28-2020 01:35 AM
Makes sense, I don't think most of us give much thought to supply chain logistics and how complicated it can be with all the parts and people that go into it.
I used to work in airline operations and most people don't realize how many people are working behind the scenes to move that airplane from point A to point B. It's far more than pilots, flight attendants and gate agents. Forget about it on a bad weather day!
09-29-2020 12:14 AM
@CathyNY, I bet that is a process moving planes from point A to point B with people not truly appreciating everything that goes on behind the scenes.
The article was interesting and really brought to light all of the factors that have been involved in the shortages. Like a domino effect. The first domino goes and look out Nellie.
Then add more people off from work, kids home from school that equaled increased demand for many products and it was the perfect storm that brough serious challenges to the supply chain that just could not be quickly resolved by companies.
09-29-2020 12:23 AM
they have them at walmart.com
10-01-2020 12:56 PM
@Shoesnbags I read the article on yahoo news at that time I posted.
10-01-2020 12:58 PM
When I was at walmart last week they actually had some real large packages of Lysol Wipes and I bought one. I was able to get a bottle of Alcohol too and hand wipes, I got two. I want to be somewhat stocked up for the coming season when they might be out again.
10-01-2020 02:49 PM
I live inthe Seattle area....everything is well stocked. Even disinfectants now. Plenty of paper towels.
10-01-2020 03:38 PM - edited 10-02-2020 03:45 PM
I’ve been hearing that not only will there be shortages, but, prices will be going higher. I’m buying extra packages of frozen and canned vegetables with each grocery trip. And, you can freeze flour, grits, cornmeal , pancake mixes for years in a lock n lock so that it doesn’t get damp. It’s just two of us, and we don’t need much, but extra’s on hand has never been a bad idea. If it turns out that we don’t need it, someone else might.
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