Are We Having A Food Shortage Now ?

[Seasonedcitizen]

I was at a plumbing supply store today getting a water filter. My plan was to get two if there were a lot or just one if not. There were a lot of them so I got two. I mentioned to the cashier that I bought two so next time I would be covered if I couldn’t find any filter that size. The person before me bought stuff for a business by the box and one box was only less than half full. That was all they had. Every time I go grocery shopping, I buy a few extra cans of things.

I have a garden so I have fresh vegetables and I also harvest the edible weeds. They are the first to grow late winter and the bugs leave them alone.

 

[Angelapinks]

I remember when I was taking some business courses at the turn of the century that one of the terms we had to learn was JIT, just in time. Industries and businesses moved to a model where their inventory would be just what was necessary for the moment rather than the old model where companies stockpiled and had back inventory. JIT was adopted because with new technology, things could be moved quickly around the world but now we're seeing that isn't always the case.

Yes I went through JIT training back in the 90's as part of my Quality Control Training course. We would often try and come up with things that would effect the JIT system and what to do about it. The Pandemic is one of those things but back then it was other unforeseen health risks that came to mind to stem the supply chain.

 

[Angelapinks]

I was at a plumbing supply store today getting a water filter. My plan was to get two if there were a lot or just one if not. There were a lot of them so I got two. I mentioned to the cashier that I bought two so next time I would be covered if I couldn’t find any filter that size. The person before me bought stuff for a business by the box and one box was only less than half full. That was all they had. Every time I go grocery shopping, I buy a few extra cans of things.

I have a garden so I have fresh vegetables and I also harvest the edible weeds. They are the first to grow late winter and the bugs leave them alone.

I did some grocery shopping today as Thursday is the day the Flyers come out with Sales at various stores. Got there just after lunch and many counters and meat coolers were already empty or getting very low. I asked the stock boy who said people are waiting for them to open these days as supplies are limited on some items.

 

[SuperMutant]

It is not a food shortage. This is a logistics issue. Big supermarkets, the ones with monopolies have different warehousing than independents and smaller supermarkets. since Amazon, Ebay, and other online giants have grown so big they have also created a logistic nightmare. There are not enough sea containes to go on ships. Not enough ships to transport them. Not enough trucks to unload the containers onto. Ships are being stuck for months offshore and many have gave up and returned back to where thier cargo originated. It has been estimated in Europe and the UK they are short 300,000 transport workers. Think of the global shortage. There is also an equally urgent shortage of trucks, vans, trailers, ships and sea containers.

Then there are border closures with trucks and drivers unable to travel coast to coast.

Longshoremen, wharfies, truckies, forklift operators, fuel suppliers are all caught up in the Covid19 crisis. many cannot work due to illness. Others are not allowed to due to vaccination issues. Then differing border regulations and laws.

A problem not many people know about is regarding deisel fuel. Most modern trucks, ships etc run on deisel. Deisel is highly polluiting so they use an additive called AdBlue. This from wikipedia. "Diesel exhaust fluid (DEF; also known as AUS 32 and marketed as AdBlue[3]) is a liquid used to reduce the amount of air pollution created by a diesel engine. Specifically, DEF is an aqueous urea solution made with 32.5% urea and 67.5% deionized water. DEF is consumed in selective catalytic reduction (SCR) that lowers the concentration of nitrogen oxides (NO
x) in the diesel exhaust emissions from a diesel engine." There is a world shortage of this additive. South Korea and Indonesia between them rcently supplied Australia as an ac of goodwill with 15,000 litres. Without this additive these deisel engines cannot run.

Amazon, ebay etc dliveries are using rsources and logistics that should be diverted to supplying food to supermarkets and shops. However it is who can pay the most that profits. There is plenty of food. The problem is food, medical supplies are being held back while tinsle and decorations, jewellery, makeup and other non essential things have been given priorority.

It is all about profit. Covid19 hs been a great learning curve for logistics companies and social organisations have been exposing much of this.

 

[babypp]

I was doing my weekly shopping today, and I noticed that all 3 grocery stores I visited had very low stock on many items ( Wegmans Food Markets, Giant Food Stores, Weis Markets ). I was able to get most of the items on my list, but I am concerned that there may be some serious problems in the future.

Have any of you been shopping recently, and if so, how was the food stock?

[[ One of the many nearly empty shelves in Wegmans on January 11 2022 ]]
View attachment 69806

Well I don't know about food but diet mountain dew is hard to find nowadays

 

[Hemix]

Food stock is ok here in Spain, but sometimes they don't replenish it by purpose.

 

[TD712]

Inflation is a thing these days. that's why there is food shortage in some locations

 

[KrankyPants]

Here I am, ordering dinner, expecting it to be poifect.

 

[LittleTahani]

It’s truck drivers complaining about Covid stuff refusing to deliver loads . Supply chain is just people wanting to cause problems on purpose and then corporations taking advantage of we citizens on purpose

 

[RainbowDashie]

I once waited 22 days for Walmart to deliver some jalapeño Cheetos I bought online . It's insanity

 

[Fhenngreat]

I was doing my weekly shopping today, and I noticed that all 3 grocery stores I visited had very low stock on many items ( Wegmans Food Markets, Giant Food Stores, Weis Markets ). I was able to get most of the items on my list, but I am concerned that there may be some serious problems in the future.

Have any of you been shopping recently, and if so, how was the food stock?

[[ One of the many nearly empty shelves in Wegmans on January 11 2022 ]]
View attachment 69806

Inflation and food shortages are going to get bad quickly along with longer term supply chain issues. Stock up now because tomorrow it will be more expensive

 

[Angelapinks]

Inflation and food shortages are going to get bad quickly along with longer term supply chain issues. Stock up now because tomorrow it will be more expensive

Here in Canada I have seen some shelves with low stock at various times during the week. The weekly flyers always show many items I need but if I don't get there by 8 AM the shelves are bare of some items.

 

[egor]

I have noticed this since March 2020.

Some of it is hoarding issues at first. Then it seems very interesting that every so often there is a series of items that are not on the shelf, interestingly for 21 days. Then it is full stocked, some types do not reappear, but none the lest the price is at lease 10% higher.

As for example I manage a PTA Concession stand and Gatorade was all most impossible to find, then one of the flavors that was are best seller is no longer available, and only half the shelf space is there and the price is $1.25 a unit higher.

Now the similar items are going up the same amount.

IMO this is the "big 10" Price gouging and blaming it on "Inflation".

The reason I suspect this is my neighbor is a surplus reclamation specialist. During the Toilet paper shortage in 2020 he was hauling 53 ft trailer loads of toilet paper to the recycle depot.

There is some logistic issues because of the "buying change" due to covid isolation, but there is IMO still the big 10 padding there pockets, because nobody wants to challenge their Lobbyists.

 

[jamiejamie]

A lot of it have to do with supply and demand with the delivery of the raw material for manufacturing goods and making foods for the grocery store. And then later has the logistics problems so that also delays it further. Yea- hoarding can be an issue but not at this time.

 

[SennkohCoola]

Here in Canada I have seen some shelves with low stock at various times during the week. The weekly flyers always show many items I need but if I don't get there by 8 AM the shelves are bare of some items.

That's the way it was the USA too. I have seen some shelves with low stock at various times during the week. The weekly flyers always show many items I need but if I don't get there by 8 AM the shelves are bare of some items.

 

[slimjiminy]

Some days, even the milk runs out. The bags of milk have remained available, but we've switched to cartons some time ago. May have to dig out that old plastic bag milk jug again.

 

[fleckothefennec]

I haven't noticed any shortages in BC. I'm stoked that my freezer is full of wild game and fish, just made some deer sausage, next is pemmican. My garden has lots of fresh stuff already, will be canning plenty of it. Luckily nature's grocery store seems well stocked

 

[Monster3579]

I haven't noticed any shortages in BC. I'm stoked that my freezer is full of wild game and fish, just made some deer sausage, next is pemmican. My garden has lots of fresh stuff already, will be canning plenty of it. Luckily nature's grocery store seems well stocked

GO YOU GO ~> wanta diapered helper / henchperson / minion ?
... hate Texas so Verrry bad
Pemican sounds interesting; always disliked such sweeetness in nutrition dense items.
Cheers from Texas,
Billy

 

[GermanDL]

No we don't

 

[AnalogRTO]

The economics behind these 'shortages' is extremely complex. COVID has wreaked havoc on the systems we had in place, systems that were fine tuned to provide just the needed amounts of any given item to any given location at the appropriate point in time.

The first line of the issue is the workers in all of the industries that supply us with these goods. Research has been suggesting that those workers were hit by COVID at up to 3X the infection and mortality rate as other segments of the population. No surprise there; they were expected to keep working, their jobs didn't allow them to shelter in place or quarantine, their medical coverage was significantly worse, and staying home because of illness meant losing pay. Of course they got hit hard, and you can see the result in jobs in your local area. Lots of places hiring and people getting much better pay rates for those jobs because workers are so hard to find.

Now we move on to supply/demand and the response of the system to handle major sudden shifts. Gas prices at the onset of the pandemic cratered. The companies making and providing it suddenly went into a massive surplus on their hands. These systems are used to steady flows with a minor disruption here or there. Crude oil prices actually went NEGATIVE at one point. A massive shift like that takes months to try and figure out. In that time you've gone from producing what was needed to massive overproduction, to shutting off production because off the glut, to trying to bring the system back up at a lower production rate to match the new needs. Not all of that equipment does well being idled or shut down, some of it takes quite a while to bring back up. Again, as everything opens back up there is another major shift that the system has to respond to.

Looking to previous posts, there is also changes in the mix of products needed. Auto fuel, jet fuel, and a number of others had demand drop to almost nothing. Diesel fuel demand stayed the same or increased. Next, you have drivers in demand. Go back to the fact that we had major segments of our population hit harder by the pandemic. When you look at the truck drivers alone, these guys are regulated on how much they can drive and do in a given day. When you lose 2-3% of the workforce and can't replace it easily, you now back things up and a cascade of problems starts to follow.

Last, you end up with greed from corporations that are trying to make back all the lost profits from the last couple of years. Couple that with new supply issues (from manufacturing positions to logistics and everywhere in between) and you end up with demand going up while supply levels cannot respond appropriately. Couple in there all of the money that the government printed and gave away to try and stabilize the economy during a massive upheaval. Now prices go up (add in that you are paying the average low level worker more to keep them and have them work more hours) and everyone complains about inflation.

Some countries and localities did better with getting back on their feet. Honestly, the limited approach to the pandemic taken here in the United States probably hurt us significantly and will have long lasting effects. The prior pandemic in 1918 was nowhere near as bad as this; people didn't travel as much and there was more localized supply chain points for our needs. Now, many items are shipped halfway around the world from the point of manufacture. When a cargo container takes weeks or months at sea to get goods from one point to another, a sudden shift in a short period of time means it takes at least that shipment time (and then some) to respond.

Not everything can be blamed on one person, these issues are extremely complex and can't be analyzed in nice sound bites for the media to present. That's why there is a Nobel prize for economics!