Pandemic supply chain in your area

aznsx

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Now it's fireworks (right on time for the 4th, of course). They cite "supply chain issues", the 'phrase of the 20s':
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PHOENIX, AZ — Fourth of July is just around the corner, but some Valley cities already know they won't be lighting up the sky with fireworks. The most common reason? Supply chain issues.

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Hooked on Fenix

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People aren't going to tolerate no fireworks on the 4th of July. Either they'll go somewhere else, bring their own, or they'll get creative. There's no better way to celebrate freedom than to blow some :poop: up. But if you see someone doing anything creative, run.
 

Hooked on Fenix

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Just got back from Costco. Batteries shot up in price again. The 40 pack of AAs or AAAs, or the pack of 9 volt Duracell batteries is $20.99. The 14 pack of Cs or Ds is 18.99. New York Steak is $10.99/lb. They had no regular boneless skinless chicken thighs. Organic thighs were $5.99/lb. Glad you can still buy a 3 lb. cooked chicken for $5. Wonder how long that will last? Pizzas are starting to use meatless pepperoni. With meat so expensive and less available, I guess they are trying to make more people go vegan. They still had no chicken feed. They were out of our dog's dog food. Alternatives were up to $60. Looked like they were running low on kitty litter as well.
 

Poppy

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I haven't heard a thing about baby formula on the news in... what? A month?

I took this picture today at our local supermarket.

1656884448189.png
 
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turbodog

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I haven't heard a thing about baby formula on the news in... what? A month?

I bet you'll be hearing about it soon enough. With R/W overturned, the first births will happen in ~6 months. The significant increase in births will come with a need for formula. If I were in the market for such items... I would begin stocking up now.

If all abortions are turned into births, expect a 28% increase. Reality will be somewhere in between of course, but with such _tight_ supply... I don't see this working out smoothly.
 

PhotonWrangler

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I was at one of my usual gas station haunts to grab some coffee yesterday and I've found that they've been out of sporadic things for the past two weekends. They're also not doing as well as usual in terms of general upkeep, so I'm not sure whether this is a supply chain issue, a labor shortage or both. This is one of the national chains, not some mom & pop station.
 

xxo

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I haven't heard a thing about baby formula on the news in... what? A month?

I took this picture today at our local supermarket.

View attachment 29574
The formula shortages are still a thing and seem to be getting worse. A family member ran out of formula for her new born and was lucky enough to get some from a network of mothers around the country who share what little formula they have so that, hopefully, no one has to go without.
 

Hooked on Fenix

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Wonder how bad fuel and meat shortages will be after the 4th of July? With a lot of people wanting to travel by car or plane and wanting to barbecue, I wouldn't expect things to get better.
 

Poppy

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20 years ago, gas was a dollar a gallon, 10 years ago it was three dollars a gallon; people adapted. Now it's five dollars a gallon. IMO people will adapt. Sure there was a sudden increase, and everyone is in a sudden shock. Hopefully it won't be long lasting, but if it is, we'll adapt.

Gas in my area is dropping about a nickel a week. A nearby station is now at $4.61 a gallon.

Skinless boneless chicken breasts can still be had for the 5 pound family pack for $2.99 a pound on sale. It is pretty regularly on sale. Otherwise, it's $3.49 a pound (in the family pack).
 

idleprocess

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20 years ago, gas was a dollar a gallon, 10 years ago it was three dollars a gallon; people adapted. Now it's five dollars a gallon. IMO people will adapt. Sure there was a sudden increase, and everyone is in a sudden shock. Hopefully it won't be long lasting, but if it is, we'll adapt.
Living in a regional capitol of truckistan I've witnessed more than a few of these price shocks and it's apparent that the average automobile buyer's memory is short. Every time there's a prolonged spike in the price of gas there's a reluctant, grudging, resentful interest in conservation that lasts about until the price of fuel stabilizes at something close to the old normal then it's back to lifestyle trucks / luxury dadmobiles with the biggest engine available.

The market will force some short-term corrections but I doubt that the trajectory will much alter in an automobile-dependent society where for generations what you drive has been presented as what you are. Conversely, the finances of major petroleum-exporting nations generally obligate them to keep the pumps running so these things tend to correct back towards the old baseline.

Gas in my area is dropping about a nickel a week. A nearby station is now at $4.61 a gallon.
I paid $5.10/gallon for 93 about three weeks ago, $5.00/gallon late last week so it's inching down.
 

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Easy for those not living in California to think things will just go back to normal eventually. Our laws in this state will prevent that from ever happening again. We have a free range animal law that drives up the price of eggs and especially pig meat. Many out of state companies won't do business with California anymore because of that law. Smithfield and Farmer John have decided California is too expensive to do business in so they are both leaving the state. Bacon is sometimes over $10 a lb. in the store. We've basically made it too expensive to produce food in the state and penalized other states for doing business with us so much they take their business elsewhere. Then there's A.B.5 which not only will produce a shortage of truck drivers in the state, but will also likely ban independent operator truck drivers from other states from ever doing business in California. If we could let the market correct some things, we might eventually get things back to normal, but with government interference, nothing will ever be the same again. The government is living up to it's motto: If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
 

turbodog

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...

Skinless boneless chicken breasts can still be had for the 5 pound family pack for $2.99 a pound on sale. It is pretty regularly on sale. Otherwise, it's $3.49 a pound (in the family pack).

Local kroger sold me some nice pork butt for 1.99/lb, 7lb of meat. I'm gonna have pulled pork bbq for many days.

Even losing 50% due to shrinking/cooking, finished product for $4/lb is not bad at all.
 

PhotonWrangler

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I was at a large variety store on Friday where they have an island of displays in the middle of an aisle at the entrance. This time of the year it's normally filled with back-to-school items like pencils, crayons, notebooks and Elmer's glue. This time however the island had a number of empty bins. Maybe it's supply chain issues or maybe students aren't using pens & pencils anymore. Either way it looked significantly barren compared to the same display last year.
 

bykfixer

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I wonder if Elmers glue "may have been linked to causing cancer in California" like nearly every product I buy at box stores these days. Haven't bought Elmers glue in a while.

Shelves look pretty normal in general where I live lately.
 

Hooked on Fenix

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Looks like there is a truck worker strike planned at the California ports starting tomorrow at 7-8 a.m. (Los Angeles port at least, maybe Oakland as well- so far in Oakland 15 companies ready to strike for 3 days) to protest A.B.5. 70% of the port truck workers were independent owner operators that have been suddenly made illegal to work by this law. I guess the remaining 30% would rather support their fellow workers than permanently get stuck with 3+ times more work. I'd expect to see supply chain disruptions if all the truck drivers go on strike. Since A.B.5 is now in effect, expect to see a lot less product in the stores from here on out. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but at least if everyone is on board to get rid of that law, maybe these problems won't last for too much longer. I'm not happy to hear about this strike. We have enough supply chain problems. Just thought I'd give everyone a head's up about what's about to happen.
 

ampdude

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The supply chain is all fine. There hasn't been a shortage of anything that I've noticed since mid-2020 except for ammo. Which is not necessary since I already have a ton. It's just people wanting to jack prices up on everything because they've been given the green light to do so. And who has money to stock up on anything anymore anyways. There's the breaking point. Most people are living paycheck to paycheck.
 

ampdude

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People are terrified into being consumers by the corporate media. Just like they think they need to buy 47 loaves of bread, fill 20 Jerry Cans full of gas and buy and 87 gallons of milk before a hurricane comes in that lasts one day most of the time. Then end up throwing most of it away.
 

Hooked on Fenix

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The supply chain is all fine. There hasn't been a shortage of anything that I've noticed since mid-2020 except for ammo. Which is not necessary since I already have a ton. It's just people wanting to jack prices up on everything because they've been given the green light to do so. And who has money to stock up on anything anymore anyways. There's the breaking point. Most people are living paycheck to paycheck.
So you understand that prices are going up, but you don't seem to grasp basic economics and how supply and demand works. Under normal circumstances, competition keeps prices fair and low. Companies don't try to rip people off because they'll simply lose business to a competitor and lose market share. It's better for everyone if they keep the prices fair. So this idea that companies now have the green light to rip people off is ridiculous. When there is less of a product, prices increase to stabilize supply. When you don't have enough to go around, you make it harder to acquire (raise prices) so the product doesn't run out. This is a concept known as scarcity of resources. You should learn it in Economics 101. The less of a desired product you have to sell, the more valuable it is, and the higher you charge for it. If prices of everything are going up, logic dictates that there is less available to sell. This is known as a shortage. It begins with an increase in price and ends with being unable to obtain the product. Hopefully you can understand that a price increase with product on the shelf does not mean there isn't a shortage. It just means the shortage hasn't reached it's end stage yet. Countries' governments are being overturned due to food riots now (i.e. Sri Lanka). These shortages are real and blaming those that sell the products as if there is some conspiracy to rip you off is juvenile. Wake up and see what is really happening or it's going to hit you like a ton of bricks.
 
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