Supply Chain Issues

[busymom]

So, it's all over the news about the freight piling up at the docks in California.  How have the supply chain issues been affecting your community?  And, do you expect it to be worse closer to the holidays?

Here in the Midwest, I mentioned awhile back that our local Kohl's store is only receiving one shipment of goods per week right now, which means the store isn't exactly full.  More recently, I've been noticing empty shelves in the grocery area of Walmart, but now I'm seeing the same at our local Super Target.  So, how's the shopping in your area?

Another recent problem:  receiving goods I order for delivery to my house (and no, I'm not talking about Amazon).  On average, my boxes are arriving 2-3 business days later than the original promised date of arrival.  Are you getting the same results?  

[daisylu]

Mid-Atlantic here, we have been seeing plenty of empty space in grocery stores for the last 2 months. Not sure if it  is supply chain or worker shortage related. I did recently notice that the paper aisles seem to be filled with only off brands and brands from another country. I do not do much other in store shopping, so not sure what other places look like.

None of the things that I have ordered online in the past month has delivered when expected, also 2-3 days late around here.

[Deleted]

I noticed empty shelves in the grocery store a month or so ago. 

Even when I shop locally, I order online for curbside pickup when it makes sense. My online orders for delivery have been on time recently.

But when I was in the pet store a few weeks ago, they didn’t have what I was looking for on the shelf. One of the employees told me that 2 of their trucks had not delivered that week. Last week, they had that particular item on the shelf again.

My stock of some household goods is not even what it would’ve been before COVID. But that’s due to me not shopping, and not being on top of things like I normally am, not necessarily supply chain issues. I realize I might get a rude awakening when I get back on my game though.

Despite me slipping on keeping things in stock, one thing I’m confident we’re good on for a while, is toilet tissue. Mister has a “thing” about toilet tissue, and the scarcity last year made it worse imo. We never ran out, but we had to buy brands he didn’t prefer a couple of times (in case we ran out), because that was all that was available. We never had to actually use the nonpreferred brands though, I gave my Mom some and we still have the rest.

And now I keep seeing that some stores don’t have toilet paper again. Lord, please don’t let this man ever read or hear that. Our entire garage will be full of toilet paper.

[Value Buy]

Oct 15, 2021 17:31:27 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

I noticed empty shelves in the grocery store a month or so ago. 

Even when I shop locally, I order online for curbside pickup when it makes sense. My online orders for delivery have been on time recently.

But when I was in the pet store a few weeks ago, they didn’t have what I was looking for on the shelf. One of the employees told me that 2 of their trucks had not delivered that week. Last week, they had that particular item on the shelf again.

My stock of some household goods is not even what it would’ve been before COVID. But that’s due to me not shopping, and not being on top of things like I normally am, not necessarily supply chain issues. I realize I might get a rude awakening when I get back on my game though.

Despite me slipping on keeping things in stock, one thing I’m confident we’re good on for a while, is toilet tissue. Mister has a “thing” about toilet tissue, and the scarcity last year made it worse imo. We never ran out, but we had to buy brands he didn’t prefer a couple of times (in case we ran out), because that was all that was available. We never had to actually use the nonpreferred brands though, I gave my Mom some and we still have the rest.

And now I keep seeing that some stores don’t have toilet paper again. Lord, please don’t let this man ever read or hear that. Our entire garage will be full of toilet paper.

You gave your nonpreferred toilet paper to your mother?
That is worse than donating to a homeless shelter!
All kidding aside, My wife is a Charmin fanatic and Charmin it is in the closet and in the storage area in the laundry room as well as the basement. I brought home a 12 pk of Angel Soft for "emergency back up". I was told I have to use that stuff and always keep my roll separate from hers in the bathroom.

[Deleted]

Oct 16, 2021 10:10:20 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Oct 15, 2021 17:31:27 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

I noticed empty shelves in the grocery store a month or so ago. 

Even when I shop locally, I order online for curbside pickup when it makes sense. My online orders for delivery have been on time recently.

But when I was in the pet store a few weeks ago, they didn’t have what I was looking for on the shelf. One of the employees told me that 2 of their trucks had not delivered that week. Last week, they had that particular item on the shelf again.

My stock of some household goods is not even what it would’ve been before COVID. But that’s due to me not shopping, and not being on top of things like I normally am, not necessarily supply chain issues. I realize I might get a rude awakening when I get back on my game though.

Despite me slipping on keeping things in stock, one thing I’m confident we’re good on for a while, is toilet tissue. Mister has a “thing” about toilet tissue, and the scarcity last year made it worse imo. We never ran out, but we had to buy brands he didn’t prefer a couple of times (in case we ran out), because that was all that was available. We never had to actually use the nonpreferred brands though, I gave my Mom some and we still have the rest.

And now I keep seeing that some stores don’t have toilet paper again. Lord, please don’t let this man ever read or hear that. Our entire garage will be full of toilet paper.

You gave your nonpreferred toilet paper to your mother?
That is worse than donating to a homeless shelter!
All kidding aside, My wife is a Charmin fanatic and Charmin it is in the closet and in the storage area in the laundry room as well as the basement. I brought home a 12 pk of Angel Soft for "emergency back up". I was told I have to use that stuff and always keep my roll separate from hers in the bathroom.

The tissue I gave my Mom was Charmin lol.

[djAdvocate]

I think hoarding toilet paper is really bizarre.

is it just me?

I can see stocking black beans or something, but TP?

[Opti]

Oct 16, 2021 17:07:15 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

I think hoarding toilet paper is really bizarre.

is it just me?

I can see stocking black beans or something, but TP?

I guess you didn't encounter bare aisles last round? I really don't know where I'd put extra TP, but I'd rather not go through round two of not finding it for weeks. Many things were missing here. Soap like Softsoap and similar were missing for months. Occasionally you could find some for 3 or more times the price. 

[djAdvocate]

Oct 16, 2021 17:19:09 GMT -5 Opti said:

I guess you didn't encounter bare aisles last round? of course!  and I thought it was STUPID.  I still think it is STUPID.I really don't know where I'd put extra TP, but I'd rather not go through round two of not finding it for weeks. Many things were missing here. Soap like Softsoap and similar were missing for months. Occasionally you could find some for 3 or more times the price. 

ibid.  install a bidet toilet or something.  it is just fucking stupid to hoard TP, imo.

[kadee79]

Oct 16, 2021 10:10:20 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Oct 15, 2021 17:31:27 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

You gave your nonpreferred toilet paper to your mother?
That is worse than donating to a homeless shelter!
All kidding aside, My wife is a Charmin fanatic and Charmin it is in the closet and in the storage area in the laundry room as well as the basement. I brought home a 12 pk of Angel Soft for "emergency back up". I was told I have to use that stuff and always keep my roll separate from hers in the bathroom.

My DH & I use different brands of toilet tissue.  I won't use what he buys cause it's generally made in China.  And another note....Angel Soft stops up septic systems.  I won't ever buy it.  And we have bidets on both toilets in the house and also on the toilets in the cottage.  That has cut down our toilet tissue use considerably.   Wish we had the ones that heat the water, but that was too much for DH to install & too pricey too.

[Tiny]

I probably look like a "TP hoarder" and paper towels, too. I do a stock up (buying packages on sale - as the sales happen) usually starting in late September thru the end of October (depends on the sales and availability. I'm not too brand loyal.) This is done so that from Nov 1st thru the end of March (or beyond) I don't have to think about TP (or paper towels). It's winter, I've got a full work and social calendar, I try to avoid having to allocate precious time to shopping for "essentials" during those months. Sometimes I wind up with a lot of TP if there's good sales and lots available. I just let the "stock pile" run down - and don't buy more until it's almost all gone.

[Value Buy]

Oct 17, 2021 17:25:13 GMT -5 kadee79 said:

Oct 16, 2021 10:10:20 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

You gave your nonpreferred toilet paper to your mother?
That is worse than donating to a homeless shelter!
All kidding aside, My wife is a Charmin fanatic and Charmin it is in the closet and in the storage area in the laundry room as well as the basement. I brought home a 12 pk of Angel Soft for "emergency back up". I was told I have to use that stuff and always keep my roll separate from hers in the bathroom.

My DH & I use different brands of toilet tissue.  I won't use what he buys cause it's generally made in China.  And another note....Angel Soft stops up septic systems.  I won't ever buy it.  And we have bidets on both toilets in the house and also on the toilets in the cottage.  That has cut down our toilet tissue use considerably.   Wish we had the ones that heat the water, but that was too much for DH to install & too pricey too.

Toilet paper made in China........are any of the national brands made there?
I imagine at the dollar store chains you can find imported tissue/towels. Does Sam's Costco, and other club stores stock made in China toilet paper? I will have to check if the WALMART  and Target brands are American made!

[Value Buy]

Oct 19, 2021 9:24:16 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Oct 17, 2021 17:25:13 GMT -5 kadee79 said:

My DH & I use different brands of toilet tissue.  I won't use what he buys cause it's generally made in China.  And another note....Angel Soft stops up septic systems.  I won't ever buy it.  And we have bidets on both toilets in the house and also on the toilets in the cottage.  That has cut down our toilet tissue use considerably.   Wish we had the ones that heat the water, but that was too much for DH to install & too pricey too.

Toilet paper made in China........are any of the national brands made there?
I imagine at the dollar store chains you can find imported tissue/towels. Does Sam's Costco, and other club stores stock made in China toilet paper? I will have to check if the WALMART  and Target brands are American made!

This is a boycott ALL AMERICANS CAN GET BEHIND!

[teen persuasion]

Ok, I guess the empty shelves have hit my Aldi.

Dumb stuff that was missing, though. No tortilla chips, every other type of cookie, spaghetti, and yes - blank pallets where toilet paper and other paper products belonged.

At least peanut butter is back in stock!

[Tiny]

My Aldi stores have been thread bare - but I assumed it was because of their goofy plan to renovate or move ALL the local Aldi's all at the same time.

My 1970's era "little Aldi" closed in early October and is scheduled to re-open before Thanksgiving. Another Aldi is closing next week (and it's got lots of empty shelves) and will then reopen across the street - in a larger footprint storefront they took over next week.

There's a new format Aldi that's a pain in the ass to get to and has very little parking and was already "over shopped" pre-pandemic.

And then there's the Aldi that picked up the slack when a large Jewel Osco closed (in 2020) and is now starting to go thru renovations (so it's all torn up but still open with smaller amounts of shelf space. that are empty because of all the shoppers/demand.

And there's another Aldi further away that's also getting "over shopped" because a large some sort of "Living Green Fresh Market" closed it's doors about 6 months ago.

On the plus side - all the local Aldi renovations/re-openings should be complete by Thanksgiving.
The "Living Green Fresh Market" is supposedly becoming a "La Familia Grocery" after a face lift and clean up and should re-open soon. The old Jewel Osco is suppose to become an Amazon Fresh Market and is scheduled to open before Thanksgiving.

Hopefully there will be plenty of products to put into all of that grocery retail space that is scheduled to "come on line" soon.

[kadee79]

Went to Sam's & Costco today...didn't look at the paper goods in Sam's cause I was more interested in cat food there.  They normally have 2 kinds of Friskies...only 1 kind today, but thank goodness...Costco had the other kind.  Costco had about 1/2 pallet of Charmin Extra, 1 pallet of Scott tissue & maybe 1 pallet of Bounty towels.  That was all for paper goods other than some of those small boxes of Kleenex.  Good thing I use Scott toilet tissue!

[wvugurl26]

I went to Sam's Club in Myrtle Beach. They had no toilet paper or paper towels at all. Both Walmarts we ended up at had toilet paper.

[Value Buy]

Oct 20, 2021 20:53:52 GMT -5 kadee79 said:

Went to Sam's & Costco today...didn't look at the paper goods in Sam's cause I was more interested in cat food there.  They normally have 2 kinds of Friskies...only 1 kind today, but thank goodness...Costco had the other kind.  Costco had about 1/2 pallet of Charmin Extra, 1 pallet of Scott tissue & maybe 1 pallet of Bounty towels.  That was all for paper goods other than some of those small boxes of Kleenex.  Good thing I use Scott toilet tissue!

Hey, you said Angel soft clogs septic systems!
So does Scott tissue! They were supposed to be the worst.

[teen persuasion]

Local news is warning about winter tire shortages.

I'd heard from an acquaintance a few weeks back that tires had doubled in price since earlier in the year. She's a senior on a tight budget, and was trying to space out buying her tires, 2 now, 2 later, as she had cash. That backfired.

[Ryan]

I always have a stockpile of TP and Paper Towels. Not really a stockpile, but I have a full Costco size backup.  I don't like running out, so I always have the full backup in storage.  

Shortages are all over the place.  I import from China for my business and, thankfully, we did most of our shipping in the early part of the year.  By our last container, it was probably 2x in shipping costs vs. what we normally pay.  Per my broker, it peaked around 5x and is probably down to 4x the cost.  The congestion is just unbelievable, especially with so much activity leading up to Q4.

[hurley1980]

I haven't seen a shortage in anything when I go to the store.  There might not be as much of a stock as usual, but its all still there.  

Also, with the TP, I think stores here aren't putting out their full stock.  Last time they put everything out, and it was bought in hours, and then they had nothing for weeks.  I think they got smart now, and are putting some out a bit at a time so it doesn't all sell out.  Its still available in all of my stores, but not in the abundance it usually is. 

[kadee79]

Oct 20, 2021 21:58:44 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Oct 20, 2021 20:53:52 GMT -5 kadee79 said:

Went to Sam's & Costco today...didn't look at the paper goods in Sam's cause I was more interested in cat food there.  They normally have 2 kinds of Friskies...only 1 kind today, but thank goodness...Costco had the other kind.  Costco had about 1/2 pallet of Charmin Extra, 1 pallet of Scott tissue & maybe 1 pallet of Bounty towels.  That was all for paper goods other than some of those small boxes of Kleenex.  Good thing I use Scott toilet tissue!

Hey, you said Angel soft clogs septic systems!
So does Scott tissue! They were supposed to be the worst.

Scott toilet tissue, single ply (1000 sheets per roll) does NOT clog septic systems.  I asked the guy when he pumped ours last year.  He said it & the stuff made for RVs is the best to use for not clogging.  

[kadee79]

I was in our local Walmart today...LOTS & LOTS of holes on the shelves in the grocery section.  Most other items were good.

ETA...Canned cat food was nearly completely empty except for the expensive stuff & Walmart brand.  My cats won't touch Walmart brand...it's nasty.

[Value Buy]

Oct 21, 2021 20:02:32 GMT -5 kadee79 said:

Oct 20, 2021 21:58:44 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Hey, you said Angel soft clogs septic systems!
So does Scott tissue! They were supposed to be the worst.

Scott toilet tissue, single ply (1000 sheets per roll) does NOT clog septic systems.  I asked the guy when he pumped ours last year.  He said it & the stuff made for RVs is the best to use for not clogging.  

Looked it up. You are correct.
Looked up Angel soft. You are incorrect.

www.angelsoft.com/explore/septic-safe-toilet-paper#:~:text=Yes.,standard%20sewer%20and%20septic%20systems.

[kadee79]

Oct 22, 2021 12:54:25 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Oct 21, 2021 20:02:32 GMT -5 kadee79 said:

Scott toilet tissue, single ply (1000 sheets per roll) does NOT clog septic systems.  I asked the guy when he pumped ours last year.  He said it & the stuff made for RVs is the best to use for not clogging.  

Looked it up. You are correct.
Looked up Angel soft. You are incorrect.

www.angelsoft.com/explore/septic-safe-toilet-paper#:~:text=Yes.,standard%20sewer%20and%20septic%20systems.

I don't care what Angel Soft says.  I know what has happened to other folks & what the septic guy has told me.  They can make all kinds of claims, but I'll stick with the guys who have to pump it out.  Anything that is thick "can" cause problems...so not necessarily 'just' Angel Soft either now that so many others are making more thick toilet tissue.  And to think I grew up using the pages from the Sears & Penny's catalogs!  The shiny/colored pages didn't work!!!!!!!!!!!

[seriousthistime]

Similar to what was discussed on the thread about Eric Clapton's views and politics, you might be interested to know this.  

The Koch brothers' businesses produce certain brands of TP.  I buy Charmin Ultra Soft, which is not owned by the Kochs. 

I'm on a city sewer.  When people run out of TP, they tend to turn to kleenex, table napkins, and paper towels.  Also, flushable wipes.  Alas, the wipes are not flushable, and the kleenex, napkins, and paper towels are designed to hold together in a wet environment (making clogs in the sewer lines more likely), unlike TP which is designed to disintegrate quickly in a wet environment. 

[Tiny]

Caught a part of an NPR report about possible shortages (or increased prices) for Thanksgiving -

I picked an online article (that doesn't appear to be behind a paywall) that has a few of the things the NPR list:
parade.com/1277691/jessicasager/food-shortage-2021-list/

NPR was about how Turkeys would be available - but they would be more expensive (because of the feed turkeys eat AND that turkeys were waiting longer (more days to feed) before they could be, um, processed. <-- that sounds awful in a dystopian way.... Anyway, there might be more of the larger turkeys for sale at the grocery than the smaller ones (and at a higher price).

NPR also mention canned cranberry sauce - because of the can... apparently there's an aluminum shortage that has been effecting canned goods. So, no shortage of cranberries - just no cans to put them in.

NPR also mentioned dessert topping and spices being in short supply (I think this was because of the supply chain blockages - there's plenty of dessert topping and spices - they just aren't on the shelf at the grocery.

I've also read about shortages in pet foods, carbonated sodas, and that the price of chicken would go up.

I am having some trouble putting together my "winter stock up" of canned and dry cat food - as I seem to only be able to buy 8 or 10 cans of the cat food my cats like at any given pet food store (I would usually just buy a 24 can flat (they don't make those anymore - too hard to ship - so they make 12 can flats instead). I would usually stock up with 72 cans (3 - 24 flats) in Oct/Nov - which with what I already had at home would get me thru the end of January (or thru February if I picked up another 12 or 24 cans).

I noticed the dry cat food my cats eat was vanishing from the shelves back in September - so started that stock up early - and I did get 2 bags (which would equal the typical amount I buy at one time). Since I tend to use up the dry cat food (down to a 10 days or less) I have on hand before looking for new dry food - I was a little anxious when I couldn't find a bag at my 3 closest pet food stores.

I can't find any Diet Coke in cans. There are no sales. 2 liters are for sale at over $2.00 a bottle.
(glad I've started drinking more home made ice tea.... to cut back on my diet coke needs.)

I did notice the difference in prices of chicken - I actually cook chicken for my cats to eat (they are on a limited ingredient diet - and I supplement with some cooked chicken most days.  

There have been no sale prices on chicken  (no mark down from the asking prices) since early September.   

It's gonna be an interesting winter.

[dondub]

Oct 23, 2021 8:46:55 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

Similar to what was discussed on the thread about Eric Clapton's views and politics, you might be interested to know this.  

The Koch brothers' businesses produce certain brands of TP.  I buy Charmin Ultra Soft, which is not owned by the Kochs. 

I'm on a city sewer.  When people run out of TP, they tend to turn to kleenex, table napkins, and paper towels.  Also, flushable wipes.  Alas, the wipes are not flushable, and the kleenex, napkins, and paper towels are designed to hold together in a wet environment (making clogs in the sewer lines more likely), unlike TP which is designed to disintegrate quickly in a wet environment. 

What thread on Clapton? I’m interested in that.

[seriousthistime]

dondub, this thread.

ymam.proboards.com/thread/65398/out

[dondub]

Oct 23, 2021 11:07:02 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

dondub, this thread.

ymam.proboards.com/thread/65398/out

.

Geez Eric. Asshole. As far as I’m concerned he peaked with Cream and Derek and the Dominoes. We saw him a few years back and most of the music came from the pianist and organist that flanked him. He looked very tired and completely uninspired. Not at all like the Santana/Clapton show I saw in Vancouver about 1974.

And in a famous argument I had with a friend’s gf that played viola, I insisted Jimmy Page was just as good. She said no way. But then dropped acid with a fellow musician and did an aural examination. She gave me the win! I always preferred Jimmy but even more, Jimi.

Thanks for the links.

[NoNamePerson]

Oct 23, 2021 8:59:27 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Caught a part of an NPR report about possible shortages (or increased prices) for Thanksgiving -

I picked an online article (that doesn't appear to be behind a paywall) that has a few of the things the NPR list:
parade.com/1277691/jessicasager/food-shortage-2021-list/

NPR was about how Turkeys would be available - but they would be more expensive (because of the feed turkeys eat AND that turkeys were waiting longer (more days to feed) before they could be, um, processed. <-- that sounds awful in a dystopian way.... Anyway, there might be more of the larger turkeys for sale at the grocery than the smaller ones (and at a higher price).

NPR also mention canned cranberry sauce - because of the can... apparently there's an aluminum shortage that has been effecting canned goods. So, no shortage of cranberries - just no cans to put them in.

NPR also mentioned dessert topping and spices being in short supply (I think this was because of the supply chain blockages - there's plenty of dessert topping and spices - they just aren't on the shelf at the grocery.

I've also read about shortages in pet foods, carbonated sodas, and that the price of chicken would go up.

I am having some trouble putting together my "winter stock up" of canned and dry cat food - as I seem to only be able to buy 8 or 10 cans of the cat food my cats like at any given pet food store (I would usually just buy a 24 can flat (they don't make those anymore - too hard to ship - so they make 12 can flats instead). I would usually stock up with 72 cans (3 - 24 flats) in Oct/Nov - which with what I already had at home would get me thru the end of January (or thru February if I picked up another 12 or 24 cans).

I noticed the dry cat food my cats eat was vanishing from the shelves back in September - so started that stock up early - and I did get 2 bags (which would equal the typical amount I buy at one time). Since I tend to use up the dry cat food (down to a 10 days or less) I have on hand before looking for new dry food - I was a little anxious when I couldn't find a bag at my 3 closest pet food stores.

I can't find any Diet Coke in cans. There are no sales. 2 liters are for sale at over $2.00 a bottle.
(glad I've started drinking more home made ice tea.... to cut back on my diet coke needs.)

I did notice the difference in prices of chicken - I actually cook chicken for my cats to eat (they are on a limited ingredient diet - and I supplement with some cooked chicken most days.  

There have been no sale prices on chicken  (no mark down from the asking prices) since early September.   

It's gonna be an interesting winter.

WOW they are on sale everywhere here. I don't drink diet coke but its available everywhere. Diet Pepsi drinker here and I get it also on sale depending which store has it. If I could ship to you I would. I drink the 16 oz bottles and get them 4 for $10 most of the time. I would come nearing stock piling Diet Pepsi than toilet paper     I sometimes wonder if it is a regional thing? I just saw where you said something about cranberry sauce - Publix had it stacked up in two different places. I haven't been to any other stores as of yet so don't know about there.