What do chicken, lumber, microchips, gas, steel, metals, chlorine, and ketchup packages have in common?
The answer is absolutely noting other than they are all nearly impossible to find!!
We see more and more product popping up on the list of shortages with the supply chain as the pandemic, Covid -19 the Variant (sounds like a movie!!) keeps us as messy as ever with shipping, demand, supply and all that goes on with the global economy. Let’s take a quick look at what is happening with our grouping listed above:
Chicken – The new slogan will read “eat less chicken” as restaurants are removing popular chicken items from menus as the price skyrockets.
Chlorine – A refreshing dip in the pool may be on hold as it becomes more difficult to stock up on chlorine tabs. A
bucket of tablets that used to cost $109.99 have doubled. What’s next?… popular pool closings at community centers, hotels and private residences. Look twice before you leap – there may not be water in the pool.
Computer Chips – What are we talking about, oh nothing other than modern technology chips on hold – Yikes!! What do we use them for? Oh, nothing other than cars, phones, computers, and just about everything in between that you use daily. Need I go on?
Gas – Not so much the shortage of product, it is the drivers that are short in supply. Warning – you may have to cut down on the fun weekend road trips and start discovering what is local around you.
Ketchup – Actually the packages. No more shared
condiments on tables. Heinz alone announced a 25%
increase producing over 12 billion packets of ketchup to date.
Building Materials Lumber, Steel and Metal – Sawmills shut down lumber production bracing for a slump. Guess what, the slump never arrived. The demand for rare earth materials is soaring (copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt) and available
deposits are declining and mining companies are facing stricter environmental and social standards. Steel is the latest which just like lumber got caught off guard.
All of a sudden, people were buying cars when other means of travel were shut down and reduced. Combined with
employee shortages, no wonder there is a waiting game. With no compromise in site with combating the virus and the closing and unclosing of businesses, be prepared for more shortages to come. What to do? Let’s stop playing around and make decisions fast!!
• As much as we all like to price shop – the consumer will be at the mercy of price hikes. Establish a relationship with your sales rep, don’t beat around the bush! Order what you need! Remember loyal customers get served first – not those that can’t find what they need from on-line stores.
• Stock up where you can. We can store your product, so while others are scrambling, we take your order off our
warehouse shelves and deliver next-day.
• Don’t wait!! Decide and decide quickly, especially
furniture orders. What you may have been quoted two weeks ago could have a price hike of 40 – 75% depending on raw materials (lumber and steel).
• Switch to local products made right in the US such as BuckEye Chemicals and Pacific Floor Care. NO overseas containers to wait on!!!
• Shop smarter by dealing locally and be smarter by taking a chance on new product that is available. Sometimes the old stand-buys such as Clorox, Purell and Lysol and name brand cartridges (try generics) aren’t available, and they are shipped from overseas!
