Supply chain expert on panic purchasing amid port workers' strike: No need to stock up on TP

Expert on panic buying amid port workers' strike

As news of the port workers’ strike spread, panic purchasing had begun. You may have already noticed empty shelves at the grocery store, but according to one supply chain expert, there is no need to stock up.

ORLANDO, Fla. - As news of the port workers’ strike spread, panic purchasing had begun. You may have already noticed empty shelves at the grocery store, but according to one supply chain expert, there is no need to stock up.

"It’s like a hurricane, but there’s no hurricane," said Ed Hennessey.

Hennessey is a grocery delivery driver, and he said his day was packed with orders full of toilet paper, paper towels, and water.

"And a lot of coffee. I’ve been doing a lot of coffee today," Hennessey said. "It’s a weird thing to buy, but every order has had coffee."

Kristie Toole is stocking up on her usual grocery run but not overdoing it.

"I get buying two or three big things of paper towels and toilet paper… but six, seven? Let everybody get their own. Don’t go overboard," Toole said. "They’re freaking out like they did in COVID. It’s kind of ridiculous!"

Approximately 45,000 dockworkers walked off the job on Tuesday over failed negotiations for increased wages and disagreements on machinery automation. Ports on the East Coast and Gulf Coast are shutting down.

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"They’re hyping it up on TikTok like it’s going to be the worst thing since 1971 – since the shortage on the shelves," Hennessey said.

Misinformation and fear are now causing people to run to grocery stores, said Dr. Piyush Shah.

"Consumer goods, we have inventories," Shah said. "The systems have one-and-a-half months of inventory, so even if the supply stops in some stages, you can continue to have [goods]."

Shah is an expert on supply chains and teaches the subject at Florida Gulf Coast University. According to Shah, the items we are seeing fly off store shelves now are not the things we would likely see impacted by the strike.

"Toilet paper is predominantly produced in the U.S. We have factories in Pennsylvania – some of them in California, some of them in Georgia," Shah said. "Even the raw material, the paper pulp, comes from the U.S. and Canada."

Until people start trusting the experts and not rumors on social media, Shah said panic purchasing will continue to lead to short-term shortages.

If the strike does stretch out, Shah said the types of products that could be affected, either directly or by domino effect, would include larger items like cars, home appliances, and products that require a lot of components to manufacture.

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