There is no squeeze on Charmin. Toilet paper makers said that consumers don't need to fear shortages due to the ongoing strike at US ports. The American Forest and Paper Association, which represents makers of toilet paper, facial tissues, paper towels, and other wood products, said Wednesday that it was not aware of the strike having any impact on tissue product delivery in the US. The association said it spoke out after seeing reports on social media of consumers stocking up on toilet paper, the AP reports. It's a common reaction in times of crisis; shoppers also hoarded toilet paper in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the trade group said approximately 85% of toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, and tissues used in the US is made by US-based producers and not affected by the strike. Members of the International Longshoremen's Association went on strike Tuesday, impacting 36 ports on the East and Gulf coasts. American Forest and Paper Association CEO Heidi Brock said her group is urging the US Maritime Alliance, which represents ports and shipping companies, and the union representing around 45,000 dockworkers to come to an agreement soon so the association's members can resume exports.
Coffee is a different story. Items including bananas, alcohol, seafood, electronics, pharmaceuticals, cars, auto parts, and machinery parts also could be affected, per USA Today. Costco stores in Virginia and the Los Angeles area reported toilet paper sales had increased a bit, but not to anything like during the panic-buying days of the pandemic. A woman in Fort Worth spent her lunch hour stocking up at a grocery store on items including more than 30 pounds of meat to put in her freezer. She thinks the pandemic experience makes everyone vulnerable to shortage worries. "People feel the fear and want to overconsume and buy everything they can," Shayna Turbovsky said. (More International Longshoremen's Association stories.)
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