Pandemic supply chain in your area

[jtr1962]

Meanwhile the song "I've been working on the rail road, all the live long day" is stuck in my head.

Me too!

Fact is we've had it so good for so long we freak out as a society at the slightest hickup in the supply chain in America. I remember as a lad store shelves having empty spots was the norm at certain times.

Ask anyone who lived through WWII or the Great Depression how things were. My mother was only 6 when WWII ended but she used to tell me stories of how they saved chewing gum because rubber went to the war effort. Along with a lot of other things that were either rationed, or simply not available at all.

In my lifetime I recall wearing coats in school because the heat was off. I think the reasons were twofold. One, the energy crisis. Two, NYC nearly went bankrupt in the early 1970s, so they just couldn't afford things like heat for the schools. There were perpetual shortages of school supplies as well, things like paper, chalk, etc.

I'm fine if certain things are in short supply, or just priced beyond what I'm willing to pay. Bacon has gone way up, but I can live without it.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

My family is building a chicken coup and starting to raise chickens. My neighbors have all starting raising farm animals. Your store will never be short on supplies if it's food grown in your backyard. Sometimes you have to adapt to survive instead of waiting for someone to help you. I remember someone telling me this, "Hungry man wait long time for roast duck to fly in mouth."

 

[jtr1962]

I used to grow vegetables. Seeing how high prices are now, I'm seriously considering it again. I'll have to start the seeds next month if I go that route.

 

[Poppy]

Abraham Browning of Camden is given credit for giving New Jersey the nickname the Garden State. ... Browning said that our Garden State is an immense barrel, filled with good things to eat and open at both ends, with Pennsylvanians grabbing from one end and New Yorkers from the other. The name stuck ever since.

The Official Web Site for The State of New Jersey | Nickname

https://www.state.nj.us › nj › about › facts › nickname

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

New Jersey has changed a lot since it was declared the garden state. When asked what the state bird of New Jersey is, the most common answer is "Are you kidding me? There are no birds in New Jersey."

 

[bykfixer]

My local grocery store had plenty of items that were missing the previous week, yet there were still a few holes here and there. On the soup row those "chunky" soups were still not replenished. On the opposite side spaghetti noodles and the ribbon kind were in short supply depending on the brand. That's week 3 for those items.

They had Pert plus shampoo again. I told Mrs Fixer she should get a bottle. She said "I have two now". I replied "how long does a bottle last you?" She said "a month". I responded "and how long did they not have Pert?" She said "6 or 7 months"……"oh, right" and she grabbed a bottle.

Pig was back and so was 'trop 50' low calorie orange juice. Chicken was available but not a great selection. The toilet paper row was well stocked and again frito lay products were largely gone due to a $3.99 each sale. Usually on Sunday the Pepsi man and Frito man block the aisle but for the second week they were absent so there were holes in Pepsi products too.

Overall it was pretty much just us in the store. Maybe 10 people total and the roads were empty too. That was strange to see.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

I'm not seeing any big shortages of anything here lately. Fresh veggies, baked goods, dairy, paper products, frozen goods, all in stock. And I see tons of sanitizing products in stock at grocery stores, drug stores and DIY stores.

 

[bykfixer]

To me that was the best things to see again PW. Sanitizing products that is.

 

[raggie33]

couple a weeks ago salt was like 33 cents a can. now its damn near 140

 

[Poppy]

Supermarkets here are pushing for use of their shopping applets. Digital coupons, often offer greater savings than clipped coupons. What a PIA. Internet access in the store is usually pretty weak, so you have to do your shopping/browsing while at home.

Yesterday, I wanted to get some beef. I browsed the online flyers of the two big stores near me. Their prices were comparable, it seems that most beef was $9 a lb and up. Ground beef was less, but still at about $5.50 a lb. Meatloaf mix, was on sale at $3.99 / lb. With a digital coupon I picked up some Top Round for $3.99 a lb, normally at $7.99 a lb.

I didn't see any big holes, strawberries, and salads were back in stock. Bell peppers (all three colors) were on sale, and in stock. Breads, rice, and paper products were all well stocked, and with brand names. I didn't check out the water isle.

Saturday, I did go through a Costco, just to get a few cases of their Kirkland 40 bottle cases of water. Out of stock, they did have however PLENTY of the higher priced Poland Spring water, no thank you. They also had brand name TP, and brand name paper towels. I don't think they had their Kirkland brand.

I topped off my gas tank at $3.19

 

[bykfixer]

I forgot about water. Week 2 without my sized, 2.5 gallon containers. Plenty of gallon size and smaller though. That is not that unusual in winter though. My thought is they clear out the lesser sized containers that collect dust by not stocking the bulk kind. I just buy gallon jugs of local produced spring water instead.

What surprises me is how empty car dealer lots are. The showroom floor where I get my car serviced is empty. And the 200 or so parking spaces on the lot are every other spot with a couple rows empty. WOW!! All of them around me are like that. And what stock they have are mostly used cars and trucks. We bought an 018 a couple years ago and that same car used is priced higher now than it was new in 018.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

Went to Costco. They seemed pretty well stocked, but prices keep going up. $4.50 per lb. for ground beef, $9 a lb. for steak. Haven't found any Costco recently that carries regular salt or butt rub barbecue seasoning. Almond milk is near $10 for three half gallon containers. A flat of eggs is around $10 (It was $14 at Stater Bros). Went with the shelf stable almond milk with 12 1 quart containers for $12 instead. There was no shortage of t.p. or paper towels.

Went to Stater Bros the other day and several spots had signs saying that a product was out of stock due to supply chain problems. The Ramen noodle section was cleared out. Meat and eggs were very overpriced. They were permanently out of sesame seeds (I use them to make orange chicken).

 

[bykfixer]

This weeks treasure hunt at the grocery store went fairly uncomplicated although some alternatives had to be purchased. Again they were out of the 2.5 gallon water jugs and turkey sausage. And the canned lima beans Mrs Fixer likes seem to be out of season or something because there wasn't even a space for those.

Fresh chicken was noticeably sparse again and what they had was higher priced than cow. Fresh fish? Nope, nada. Frozen fish was sparse but a pound of flounder was $5 so flounder is on the menu this week.

The cold and flu section was nearly bare again. For some reason nearly every cart we saw was loaded with paper towel jumbo packs. So I did buy some more toilet paper. Doritos were back but Fritos and Cheetos were gone.

Cleaning supplies seems back to normal except powder for my dishwasher, which I suppose has gone the way of the vcr anymore. So I just looked at a youtube video and saw I can use liquid for dishwashers and those pods in my older machine.

At work we are still having supply issues with things like various pipe and concrete. But those are due to such high demand after the 2020 pandemic stimulous $ hit the streets. And along with that the federal $ from the 08 stimulous shovel ready jobs that were log jammed in court for environmental concerns or design issues are also being built. The project I'm overseeing now was conceived in 2009. Also developers who had been figuring interest rate hikes are also building as fast as they can.

Another construction related issue is a shortage of heavy equipment. You can buy back hoes and bull dozers all day long. But GPS equipped units are selling faster than ice cubes in Haidees. It took a while for the industry to take advantage of GPS to build with but in 2020 the idea hit the construction industry like an atomic bomb.

 

[scout24]

Interesting, Byk. Up here in my neck of the woods, we have John Deere, New Holland, Mahindra, Cub Cadet, and Kubota dealers in the immediate area. There is a serious ongoing shortage of equipment and parts from hobby/homeowner sized stuff up through contractor sized units. I don't know about big kid equipment, but the lots are sparse here and have been for over a year. Parts are hit and miss.

 

[bykfixer]

Lots are far from full here either Scout. But if you've got a hundred k for a giant Tonka wheel loader they can hook a brutha up. Want 4? That's a different ending to the story.

I needed a wheel for my mower that took 3 months arrive.

 

[bykfixer]

Speaking of full lots, near me is a Carvana distribution site. Holy cow that 10 acre parking lot is packed with like new used cars.

I'm just amazed that the company is even making it. People buy cars on the internet without even test driving them?

I'll bet the repo man is making a fortune off of that company. WOW!

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

Speaking of full lots, near me is a Carvana distribution site. Holy cow that 10 acre parking lot is packed with like new used cars.

I'm just amazed that the company is even making it. People buy cars on the internet without even test driving them?

I'll bet the repo man is making a fortune off of that company. WOW!

Please don't buy from Carvana. There is good reason why they have plenty of cars. People are finding out that they are selling the cars without providing the registration required to get more than temporary tags. Then, they are doubling up on the temporary tags or giving them out of state temporary tags. People get stuck paying for a car they don't have clear title to and can't legally drive.

 

[bykfixer]

I've bought 2 cars without test driving them…no 3.
First was a 1966 Mustang that had sat for 14 years under a car port. I took the cash, a battery and 5 gallons of gas with me. I gave the man the money, put in the gas, then the battery, fired that sucker up in about 25 seconds and drove it home. It began falling apart as soon as I got it home.

Next was a 77 Cutlass a mechanic family member had fixed up real nice. I handed him the cash and drove it home. That thing passed everything but a gas station thanks to a hi power 350 engine and tranny shift kit. Back then the gas gauge would move up and down if you accelarated or slowed down. The Cutlass gas guage would move towards empty when you accelarated but never would move back toward full.

The 3rd was last summer when I bought my son's 2004 Lexus. I gave him a check and he gave me the title and says "wanna test drive it?"……"sure, why not afterall I own it now". Drove that one to a parts store for a car cover and let it sit until Covid mode DMV sent me some tags about 3 months later.

Meanwhile my local grocery store had 1/4 gallon containers of skim milk again. That's been hit or miss for about the last year.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

Got back from shopping at Costco today. They finally had bratwurst back in stock. They had no canned corn or sacks of beans. The 5 lb. bag of grass fed hamburger patties was up to $24. Their pack of corn tortillas was up to around $5. Honey Nut Cheerios were $9. Almond milk 3 pack was $9.49. Store seemed to be fairly well stocked with some basic items like corn, beans, pork butt rub, and salt missing, but a lot of the prices were insane. The cheaper options for yogurt were all gone as well.

 

[knucklegary]

Safeway, Vons, Albertsons in stock on the shelves today; Honey Nut O's $6.. Almond Milk $2.50..

Bountiful pork butts shopping.. Screw Costco!