Product shortages in your area ?

[Koolau]

Understand the situation. Paradise is a tough pace to live sometimes.

Yeah, but somebody's got to do it.

 

[Sunset]

For me this is deja vu. First I saw it 1988-1992 in Soviet Union and what come after it.
Same symptoms, same events. It will go faster and faster + inflation will accelerate...Until you come to the point when nobody will take money for the product or service- will ask another product or service as a payment.
I noticed this (disappearance of products + increase in inflation) more than 6 months ago. Mentioned it on this forum in another thread. People laughed. Still laughing?

Nice to have a view from other experiences.

I have a relative from Russia, she moved to Canada from the "Motherland". One of the funnier stories told to me was the 2nd day being in Canada they had to go to the grocery store since nobody had lived in the house for a couple of years.
She was amazed at the shelves full of food and no lines.
She took a grocery cart and swept most of the shelf of spices into the cart.
It took some explaining that all the spices and food would still be available in the store tomorrow and the next day.

Maybe she will have important skills learned in Russia for the future if things get worse

 

[Scuba]

I went shopping today for the first time in a couple of weeks. There was nothing we needed that I couldn’t find, but shelves were barer than before. Luckily I was able to get TP as we were down to a few rolls and have guests coming this weekend. Trader Joe’s didn’t have grated pecorino Romano but Ralph’s did. Prices continue to rise.

 

[SecondAttempt]

Actually, we (in the Islands) depend upon receiving a steady stream of container ships for MOST of our consumer items. Based on that, any supply-chain disruption can cause instant shortages. I've been told that we have a 7 day supply of food in the Islands. Previous strikes, hurricanes, 9/11, etc., have caused dramatic shortages in hours to days. That may be what our local Costco has been experiencing. I don't actually know. I just notice that the "issue" of shortages has been much more dramatic of late.

It used to be that ONE or two items would be out of stock. This time, the whole freezer section was EMPTY of frozen treats and ice cream. Usually, Costco has SOME brand of TP (either Kirkland or Charmin.) This time, they were OUT. There was a one-bail-only sign on the recently-arrived Kirkland TP last night, so whatever is going on is going to be with us for a while longer, apparently. Yes, our supply chain is a bit more vulnerable but at least we've not had the container ships cueing up in the harbor. So there's that.:cool smiley: YMMV

I think we have relatively more warehousing here, especially this time of year. That's because when a hurricane is approaching everyone preps and the store are overrun. Why any family group needs ten 25 lb bags of rice to survive a storm is beyond me but who am I to judge? But costco is used to crazy buying here and is likely responding both by stocking up and placing limits.

Almost everything we buy here comes from one of three routes - a Matson ship from Oakland or Los Angeles, a Pasha ship from Los Angeles, or an Amazon Air flight. Neither Pasha nor Matson has a lot of surge capacity.

There were lots of bare shelves through last November or so but since then stores seem to be stocked as usual. That does not mean they are not out of a few things but we are used to that as a regular situation.

 

[SecondAttempt]

I have a relative from Russia, she moved to Canada from the "Motherland". One of the funnier stories told to me was the 2nd day being in Canada they had to go to the grocery store since nobody had lived in the house for a couple of years.

When I moved to Hawaii about a decade ago. I moved a few things into my first place then went to Walmart to get a few things I needed. This was one of two Walmarts on the island. I got most of my stuff but they were completely out of bar soap of every brand. I was like wtf? What is going on here? I never figured it out. I had a few hotel bars to tide me over for a few days then got soap at a local grocery store.

Crazy things like that happen here.

 

[Ronstar]

Perceived shortages are almost as bad as the real ones. I saw 4 tubs of cool whip in our freezer and started to dive into one. DW sees me and says "Leave those alone. They are for Thanksgiving. You know that there is going to be a cool whip shortage."

We know a Walmart manager. He's constantly checking his current inventory, anticipated demand based on previous years at this time, and when his next shipment is coming and the number of units coming.

I suspect that customer fear of shortages leads to unusual impulse buying that creates some the shortages we are seeing.

 

[ERD50]

For me this is deja vu. First I saw it 1988-1992 in Soviet Union and what come after it.
Same symptoms, same events. It will go faster and faster + inflation will accelerate...Until you come to the point when nobody will take money for the product or service- will ask another product or service as a payment.
I noticed this (disappearance of products + increase in inflation) more than 6 months ago. Mentioned it on this forum in another thread. People laughed. Still laughing?

One of the guys I worked with went back to Poland to visit his wife's relatives in about that time frame. He said he didn't really understand this talk of shortages - a shoe store had plenty of shoes in the display window on the street.

Then he walked into the store. The window display was their entire stock of shoes, the rest of the store was empty. Sad.

There are things that are getting out of control here, so I guess I can't rule it out, but I also don't want to get into thread-closing political territory.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

-ERD50

 

[ERObjd]

OK, i called the computer shop and it will be a PNY 500 gb solid state hard drive.. the repair shop owner said they are tracking the part to arrive sometime on Tuesday 26th..so will be nice to have a faster pc that's for sure.

 

[Sunset]

OK, i called the computer shop and it will be a PNY 500 gb solid state hard drive.. the repair shop owner said they are tracking the part to arrive sometime on Tuesday 26th..so will be nice to have a faster pc that's for sure.

That's great !

A fix that actually improves the situation.

 

[SecondAttempt]

NPR did a piece on the glass container shortage.

https://www.npr.org/2021/10/12/1045...now-mean-a-shortage-of-glass-jars-and-bottles



Companies are also hoarding bottles like toilet paper. Wine, beer, liquor, pasta sauce, etc. are all impacted by this.

Beer? Nooooo! This sh!t just got real!

 

[dixonge]

Beer? Nooooo! This sh!t just got real!

May start hoarding on our fave box wines. Just in case...

 

[Koolau]

One of the guys I worked with went back to Poland to visit his wife's relatives in about that time frame. He said he didn't really understand this talk of shortages - a shoe store had plenty of shoes in the display window on the street.

Then he walked into the store. The window display was their entire stock of shoes, the rest of the store was empty. Sad.

There are things that are getting out of control here, so I guess I can't rule it out, but I also don't want to get into thread-closing political territory.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

-ERD50

Good friend from Poland visited mainland in late 80's. He loved to just go stand in a store - any store and gaze at the displays and stacks of merchandise. Since his luggage was limited, the main thing he wanted to take home with him was iron-on repair tape. He knew how to keep a suit going for decades. Most of his shirts had been repaired as well as most trousers. It was humbling to think how good we had it (have it) here. YMMV

 

[razztazz]

I went shopping just this morning. The meat semi-shortage of the last few weeks seems to have been rectified, however the ever popular papier du toilette and paper towel shelves had those big cavernous empty spaces they had last March/April. That was just one store. Could have been a bad day but was atypical and not out of synch with what we're hearing.

 

[Katiek]

I've encountered a few shortages while shopping including one supermarket that was almost out of toilet paper/paper towels etc. But unlike last year, when one store is out of stock, I can usually find a very well stocked store nearby. It may make shopping a longer process or more expensive, but delays seem to be more spotty and store specific.

 

[MRG]

Third week no cheese, no walnuts.

 

[Sunset]

I just scored 17 lbs of pork roasts at 99 cents/lb at the grocery store, had to ask the meat counter person to get 1 from in back as none out front.... was this a sign of shortages and selling out the back door

Otherwise no sign of shortages in the local grocery store, but canned pop is pricey these days.

 

[W2R]

[...]and paper towel shelves had those big cavernous empty spaces they had last March/April.

I've encountered a few shortages while shopping including one supermarket that was almost out of toilet paper/paper towels etc.

I'm glad I ordered 20 rolls of Bounty paper towels from Amazon on Friday, then! They were delivered quickly, on Sunday. So, I'm set for a long time.

 

[Amethyst]

I started stockpiling...one by one...my favorite all-purpose cleaner, Lysol Power and Free - the instant it started showing up again on shelves (still can't buy it online).

I have enough to clean the whole house a couple of times before I'd have to resort to harsher, or less effective, cleaners. I refuse to use any other cleaner on our treated shower doors.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Today it was the empty cat food section at Wally World. We just received a shipment of the beast’s Rx food from Chewy so we’re good but will be ordering the next shipment earlier than usual just in case.

 

[ychuck46]

Seems fine

Smaller town TN. Shopped again today; didn't notice any issues. All aisles stocked and anywhere it was down somewhat was because the employees were restocking shelves.

 

[NW-Bound]

One of the guys I worked with went back to Poland to visit his wife's relatives in about that time frame. He said he didn't really understand this talk of shortages - a shoe store had plenty of shoes in the display window on the street.

Then he walked into the store. The window display was their entire stock of shoes, the rest of the store was empty. Sad.

There are things that are getting out of control here, so I guess I can't rule it out, but I also don't want to get into thread-closing political territory.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

-ERD50

Good friend from Poland visited mainland in late 80's. He loved to just go stand in a store - any store and gaze at the displays and stacks of merchandise. Since his luggage was limited, the main thing he wanted to take home with him was iron-on repair tape. He knew how to keep a suit going for decades. Most of his shirts had been repaired as well as most trousers. It was humbling to think how good we had it (have it) here. YMMV

I am reminded of the following scene from the 1984 movie Moscow on the Hudson, with Robin Williams.

People in the US got it too easy for too long. There's nothing like a bit of product shortages and rolling blackouts to teach them to appreciate things they take for granted.

 

[frayne]

I suspect that customer fear of shortages leads to unusual impulse buying that creates some the shortages we are seeing.

And God only knows the media loves to beat "the sky is falling" drum. I recently read that 90% of the world's trade is transported by ship, so any little hiccup may have delivery implications but not to worry folks, time and the right people will fix this problem. If we can put a man on the the moon we can surely ship a package of adult Huggies from Peking to Peroria in less than a two months.

 

[Car-Guy]

but not to worry folks, time and the right people will fix this problem.

+1

If we can put a man on the the moon we can surely ship a package of adult Huggies from Peking to Peroria in less than a two months.

Interesting example that you picked adult Huggies to clean up the mess we are in.

 

[38Chevy454]

Here in the home of Kroger corp, I did not notice any real bare shelves or empty products when I was at the Kroger grocery store yesterday. Prices are certainly going up though. Haven't been to Costco or Sam's for a while, so not able to see their stock situation.

 

[Gumby]

The ammunition shortage appears to be easing marginally for the most common calibers (although I still can't find .45 ACP), but purchase quantity limits continue. God help you if you need something unusual. I would be spending a lot more of these excellent autumn days at the range if I could get the ammunition for it.