General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsToilet paper and paper towels and cleaning wipes are in short supply again
my MIL manages a grocery store and is having a hard time getting things in.
She says by Christmas things will be as bad as they were in March
also says weird things are hard to get =frozen brussel sprouts, canned tomatoes weird things that make no sense
but also things like tuna, canned chicken, powdered milk some peanut butter brands
shanti
(21,670 posts)I haven't found any for a year, and I'm on my last pack. Every time I go to Costco, they're still out.
demtenjeep
(31,997 posts)This is in a small town -the only grocery store in the county seat
kimbutgar
(20,871 posts)I thought I was being ridiculous but everyone was buying them that day. Im glad I did I still have a few of unopened packages.
ProfessorGAC
(64,413 posts)The big suppliers of those products have caught up to normal demand & 95% of line fill for peak demand.
According to those I know in those companies, that happened in mid to late September.
I don't have any direct contacts in paper products. (The only support work I did in paper was lignosulfonate replacement in Kraft paper operations.). So, I have no particular insight for those consumer goods.
shanti
(21,670 posts)I look for, but there aren't any other brands either.
ProfessorGAC
(64,413 posts)...formulators, too. But haven't talked to them for a while.
I did a considerable amount of work in the chemistry of antimicrobials. Both making them, and the chemical mechanisms for why they work.
I know about a hundred people at 15-20 companies in that product line. Many of those are the institutional & industrial product lines. (Think the formulators for products hospitals, stores, schools, etc. buy.)
But, almost half are on the consumer product side.
I haven't contacted everybody, but all those I have tell me they caught up the supply chain.
The companies that make the active, EPA & FDA registered, ingredients caught up in mid summer. And the two I know best were never above 80% asset utilization. They had 25% excess capacity without any optimization efforts. That's why they caught up more quickly.
I wonder if Costco was nearing the end of their purchase contracts and it delayed back fill.
If not, misjudging forecasted demand could have had their formulator not reserving enough asset & line time.
It's not like that company couldn't take contracts to help catch up the industry supply chain if they had idle assets.
Then, Costco comes back and say to overfill inventory they need x million units, but the asset availability only exists for 200,000. Puts Costco in a tough spot.
This is only speculation, but these are things that could happen in that industry.
shanti
(21,670 posts)I went on Amazon and found a 3 pack of Clorox wipes (75 ea) for about $12. The only snag is that it will take 6 weeks to get my order At least I got an order in before they're sold out again.
Klaralven
(7,510 posts)Some of the name brands are coming back to the shelves, but a lot of the product is store brand or brands that I've never heard of. I think many of these may be products that institutional suppliers are packaging for supermarkets.
Meowmee
(5,164 posts)Except more recently unheard of new brands selling alcohol wipes in limited supply and target has some bleach, alcohol and viral disinfectant wipes as well in limited supply- unknown new brands also with 1 purchase allowed. I would have thought the generic and lysol / clorox brands would have caught up by now. I ended up making my own with dry wipes in a tub and adding my own disinfectant when none at all were available. Bjs had a new hydrogen peroxide disinfectant recently. I assume maybe they are being reserved for hospitals, clinics and other similar establishments.
just use bleach and paper towels.
Albertsons was still stocked up on Paper towels.....
Wednesdays
(17,244 posts)Less toxic than bleach, too.
marybourg
(12,540 posts)ProfessorGAC
(64,413 posts)You should self delete.
Vinegar is not an efficacious biocide.
For foodborne bacteria, it's an effective biostatic (see pickles!) but it's not a particularly good surface disinfectant.
And it has near zero effect on most viruses. The concentration of acetic acid is far too low to create any interaction with the viral lipids or protein.
Your post is very bad advice. Essentially misinformation.
helpisontheway
(5,004 posts)I ordered some Lysol wipes on Amazon last month but they will not arrive until right after Christmas.
marlakay
(11,370 posts)On Monday or Tuesday. Don't buy their off brand one though awful. Wait till they get clorox in.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)I keep seeing people posting this.
There are stories in the news that the supply chain is on top of this.
Takket
(21,421 posts)but they are stocked, and as of yet i've had no issue getting what i need.
RandySF
(57,588 posts)ProfessorGAC
(64,413 posts)There are essentially zero shortages here.
Pharmacy, both grocery stores, both dollar stores...
Shelves of those products are fully stocked.
At a Walmart 18 miles west, there was plenty of all those, but they preemptively placed a one per customer limit.
But, of the 10-12 people I saw in line nearby, me & one other person even had TP in the cart.
Of course I was there early, so it wasn't very crowded.
But, there's very little mention of product shortages in the Chicago news.
Dorian Gray
(13,469 posts)NYC our shelves are pretty full. I got two cans of Lysol, wipes, TP and Paper Towels on Wednesday.
TexasTowelie
(111,279 posts)of brand-name and alternative labels for paper towels, toilet paper, and disinfectant wipes. They are limiting purchases to a reasonable amount so there shouldn't be any issues getting those products.
KentuckyWoman
(6,666 posts)3 different stores ... out of canned carrots.
Article in our local paper said fast food joint are having to take salads off the menu and lettuce off the sandwiches. If they can get lettuce it is too expensive and poor quality.
Between wildfires and weather, we are going to see some interruptions.
MissB
(15,800 posts)What do people use them for?
phylny
(8,352 posts)MissB
(15,800 posts)Probably because thats what my mom used.
Ive always looked at canned potatoes the same way.
BumRushDaShow
(127,261 posts)Didn't know they had that although I can't see why not. I've had frozen but usually as part of some veggie mix.
salin
(48,954 posts)create a cream base (a roux + milk) a little seasoning, and cans of whatever veggies one has on hand can make a very fast, tasty meal.
KentuckyWoman
(6,666 posts)I don't drive much in winter anymore. No longer have my yard. Canned veggies fill in over the winter when I limit driving. We do what we must ....
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)poor quality. It is already brown around the edges by the time it is delivered.
IBEWVET
(217 posts)You mentioned are in demand for food pantries. I just purchased a large amount of those items and donated them. It just hurts me to see so much hunger in our rich country.
occupant
(166 posts)Our Costco, here in SE Mich is low on paper products too. Haven't seen their brand of paper towels in eons. Kleenex is priced hideously, and they only had overpriced Charmin TP. However *score* they had a pallet of 4 pks of Lysol Spray disinfectant, only $16 ! I haven't seen any Lysol Spray since March.They dropped the pallet in the end cap spot and it went in a matter of minutes. I got one 4 pk but yanno I really wanted 3. I think someone would have beat me with a sample tray if I grabbed more than one...BTW MENARDS has a nice cannister of disinfectant Wipes for $2.99 today. Going fast. They are displayed in the grocery area in the store.
Demovictory9
(32,320 posts)Flaleftist
(3,473 posts)It's nowhere near as bad as list time. There will probably be different levels of panic buying state by state. There are still out of stock issues on seemingly random items, but I think some of that can be attributed to the plants that produce these items dealing with limited production capacity due to covid precautions and quarantined employees.
BannonsLiver
(16,161 posts)No Vested Interest
(5,156 posts)My daughter was told that that the bottlers of such (I call them soft drinks - some call them sodas) are having a hard time getting the aluminum required for the cans. Supply is coming back, but some brands are limited or out.
sweetloukillbot
(10,787 posts)Aluminum can shortages, but also sweetener shortages, I believe. I haven't seen diet Sierra Mist in ages (or regular Sierra Mist for that matter), Cherry Coke is hard to find in cans and 20-oz bottles, diet Sprite...
Another odd shortage I've found is Better Cheddars. I love those crackers and am only able to find them about once a month.
Right now I've noticed brand-name paper goods are scarce, but house brand stuff is easy to find. I'm also seeing a lot of weird off-brand disinfectant wipes - I've been stocking up over the past couple months so I'm good for a while, but I haven't seen Clorox, Lysol or house brand ones since April or so.
dawg day
(7,947 posts)I couldn't get Karo syrup for the pie, or chicken broth, and not even 2% milk. And this is a huge store that usually has 5 brands of everything.
I thought it might just be everyone shopping for thanksgiving, but it was just as bad today. Today there was only expensive "recycled" toilet paper.
Ahpook
(2,747 posts)per person. Of course that doesn't stop them from returning later for more.
I didn't understand it in March and I don't now. Why TP but not the dietary staples like rice, beans, etc? Those items never ran out, but TP didn't show back up in the grocery I use for a couple months.
Mighty odd
sweetloukillbot
(10,787 posts)The paper goods were the first wave, then water, then dry and canned goods.
Demsrule86
(68,347 posts)not seen it so got concerned and ordered from Amazon.
Meowmee
(5,164 posts)Still somewhat limited here but not non existent at all. Purchase is limited. I bought a lot in March online, one which lasts forever and the rest I bought later when I could. There are no name brand wipes still here. Some new brands have popped up with alcohol, or viral disinfectants, one with bleach, all in limited supply with limited purchase. The hand sanitizer is back, mostly different brands but not unavailable. Food- some shelves etc. are nearly bare sometimes again now when I have shopped a few times here and there... mostly in the regular supermarkets.
samnsara
(17,569 posts)..at least there was no line today.
crickets
(25,896 posts)I gave up looking for them and made my own. Bought a couple of packs of the off brand Handi-wipes (as the name brand was sold out) and cut each one into four smaller paper towel sized squares. I managed to find a decent disinfectant spray. Put about 1/4 cup into a wide mouth canning jar, fold wipes in half, stack about ten of them, and roll them up to fit in the jar. Kind of a pain, but it works for me. It's especially nice to be able to launder and reuse the wipes. I've only lost two or three to wear and tear, so haven't needed to replace them.
Having seen the next paper product crisis coming, I managed to stock up just as the shelves were starting to empty at my local grocery. Fingers crossed I can score a few boxes of Kleenex this week and then bow out of the fray for a while.
Baclava
(12,047 posts)Of course I've been stocking up all paper supplies every time I go grocery shopping whether I need them or not, I can build a fort of TP, lol, I call it slow hoarding.
A little extra here and there, dont wait for a "panic".
aikoaiko
(34,127 posts)I'll use them eventually even if I don't have to break into the backup supplies.
leftyladyfrommo
(18,815 posts)Amazon just refunded my money.