Shoppers flocked to big-box stores and supermarkets over the U.S. port strike, panic buying and often stocking up on essential items not affected by the work stoppage.
Experts said the strike, which spanned 14 ports from Maine to Texas, was mainly due to supermarkets selling fresh produce from the Caribbean and Latin America, processed food and alcohol from Europe, and some meat from overseas. It says it will affect access.
Nevertheless, similar retail store attacks have been reported in Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and even Arizona, leaving consumers worried that stores will run out of basic supplies like they did during the pandemic. It seems like he is holding a
At a Costco in New Rochelle, New York, on Thursday, cars were parked half a mile from the store and customers were shopping with piles of toilet paper, paper towels and bottled water (mainly produced household staples). He was pushing the cart out. Domestically, don't rely on ships or longshoremen.
Entire aisles of paper towels, toilet paper and Kleenex were almost completely empty at the members-only warehouse club store on Staten Island, according to video footage captured by FreedomNews.TV. It is said that stockpiling of goods was rampant. .
“Everyone came out. [today] Because they're worried about a strike, so they come and get paper towels even though they have to get milk, bread, and eggs,” one shopper told the store.
The woman, who identified herself as “Josephine,” said she was unable to get paper towels, adding that she would be worried about next week if the strike was not over.
The next ripple effect of the strike, in which dockworkers are demanding higher wages and an end to automation in port operations, will be higher prices, which will start hitting shelves as soon as Friday, experts told the Post.
At the Hunts Point Produce Market, which supplies fruits and vegetables to restaurants and supermarkets throughout the New York metropolitan area, wholesale prices for imported goods such as bananas, citrus fruits and berries, primarily from Costa Rica, have soared by 30%. Distributors are witnessing this. .
“Prices are rising in anticipation of next week's supply constraints,” Justin Reese, director of business development for CJ Brothers' Hunts Point Produce Market, told the Post. “Distributors and importers are trying to slow down sales of the products they have, knowing that there won't be enough product to meet demand anytime soon.”
At least one grocery store said consumers are buying more, but not yet at a level to worry about.
“This is not a coronavirus day or a stock-out day,” said Stephen Sloan, co-owner of New York City's Morton Williams supermarket chain. “Stores are definitely busy, but it's like having a snowstorm and people trying to stock up before the storm.”
Nelson Eusebio, political director of the National Supermarket Association, which represents 750 independent stores, said some people can “survive for weeks” on inventory in warehouses in the New York City area. “Our suppliers and our stores are in wait-and-see mode, but we have a critical few weeks left when we will have to reorder anything coming from other countries.”
Nevertheless, SRG Insights supermarket consultant Bart Flickinger said price increases for fresh fruit and vegetables will be felt in many stores this weekend as “stores are under siege.”
Smaller stores, including bodegas, may be the first to run out of produce as suppliers try to sell what they have in stock to larger customers.
“Suppliers will cut smaller orders rather than screwing up large customers,” Reese said.
Even if the strike, which began on Tuesday, ends this week, supply chains are likely to be disrupted until the end of this month, as it will take weeks to unload already loaded ships. At least 45 ships were anchored offshore as of Wednesday, compared to just three before the work stoppage.
In addition, roads and highways are impassable in some areas that were hit hard by Hurricane Helen.
“Even if the strike were resolved today, there would still be disruption at the ports and it would take weeks to resolve,” Flickinger said.
Analysts have warned that the strike could cost the economy billions of dollars a day as shipments stall.
President Joe Biden, who has voiced support for longshoremen, suggested a deal was moving forward, although he did not provide details.
