WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT(CONTINUED):FOOD SHELVES AT STORES GETTING EMPTIER--MUCH WORSE TO COME
(Michael Snyder)Officials in Washington continue to assure us that we don’t have anything to be concerned about, but meanwhile the shelves just continue to get even emptier.
On Friday, #BareShelvesBiden was the number one trending topic on Twitter, and I am sure that the Biden administration must have been thrilled by that. Biden insists that he and his team are on top of things, but so far nothing that they have done has worked. In fact, this crisis just seems to keep getting worse and worse. And because we are facing such a “hydra of bottlenecks”, there aren’t going to be any easy solutions…
When you look closely at all of the small fractures that have contributed to the world’s supply chain crackup, it really can begin to look maddeningly complex. As the Atlantic’s Derek Thompson put it, global commerce is currently being choked by “a veritable hydra of bottlenecks.” China’s “zero tolerance” policy for the coronavirus led it to shut down a major shipping terminal after a single infection and has slowed traffic at other ports. Lately, rolling power outages in the country have closed factories. Vietnam’s clothing and shoe plants, which companies like Nike rely on, were paralyzed by COVID lockdowns earlier this year. The world has also been bedeviled by shipping container shortages, made worse by bizarre pricing incentives that have led companies to send the boxes back from the U.S. to Asia empty, leaving American agricultural exporters in the lurch. Meanwhile, the world’s semiconductor shortage has lingered on, stalling car and electronics production; earlier this week, it was reported than Apple is expected to cut iPhone production by 10 million because it simply can’t get enough chips.
We can’t control what is going on in other nations, but we can certainly do something about what is happening within our own borders.
On the west coast, it appears that part of the problem is simply sheer laziness…
“In 15 years of doing this job, I’ve never seen them work slower,” said Antonio, who has spent hours waiting at Los Angeles County ports for cargo to be loaded. “The crane operators take their time, like three to four hours to get just one container. You can’t say anything to them, or they will just go [help] someone else.
The shortages continue to intensify, and we are being told that they will be even worse by the time the end of December rolls around. According to USA Today, the following are in particularly short supply right now…
Ben & Jerry flavors
Carbonated drinks
Chicken
Coffee
Diapers
Fish sticks
Frozen Meals
Heinz ketchup packets
Marie Callender’s pot pies
McCormick Gourmet spices
Rice Krispie Treats
Sour Patch Kids
Toilet paper
How hard is it to make toilet paper, put it in a truck and drive it to stores around the country?
It seems like we have been talking about toilet paper shortages for nearly two years now.
When is it going to end?
To me, the food shortages are particularly alarming.
This is the United States of America.
This sort of thing is not supposed to happen here.
But it is happening.
GRA:I'll vouch for TV dinners(Stouffers).Also,weird things like Dean's potato chip French onion dip--gone for 3 weeks.Margarine is low,canned soup by Progresso(chicken noodle/rice)very scattered,bacon just up and disappeared,hamburg and ground beef are on a "if you're timing is good" basis,Pedialyte and lower sugar Gatorade--put them on a milk carton as MIA.
The "F**k Joe Biden" sign is missing from my lawn in the cartoon.
ReplyDeleteLet's have ACCURACY,Mr.Garrison...lol.
--GRA
WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT(CONTINUED):FOOD SHELVES AT STORES GETTING EMPTIER--MUCH WORSE TO COME
ReplyDelete(Michael Snyder)Officials in Washington continue to assure us that we don’t have anything to be concerned about, but meanwhile the shelves just continue to get even emptier.
On Friday, #BareShelvesBiden was the number one trending topic on Twitter, and I am sure that the Biden administration must have been thrilled by that. Biden insists that he and his team are on top of things, but so far nothing that they have done has worked. In fact, this crisis just seems to keep getting worse and worse. And because we are facing such a “hydra of bottlenecks”, there aren’t going to be any easy solutions…
When you look closely at all of the small fractures that have contributed to the world’s supply chain crackup, it really can begin to look maddeningly complex. As the Atlantic’s Derek Thompson put it, global commerce is currently being choked by “a veritable hydra of bottlenecks.” China’s “zero tolerance” policy for the coronavirus led it to shut down a major shipping terminal after a single infection and has slowed traffic at other ports. Lately, rolling power outages in the country have closed factories. Vietnam’s clothing and shoe plants, which companies like Nike rely on, were paralyzed by COVID lockdowns earlier this year. The world has also been bedeviled by shipping container shortages, made worse by bizarre pricing incentives that have led companies to send the boxes back from the U.S. to Asia empty, leaving American agricultural exporters in the lurch. Meanwhile, the world’s semiconductor shortage has lingered on, stalling car and electronics production; earlier this week, it was reported than Apple is expected to cut iPhone production by 10 million because it simply can’t get enough chips.
We can’t control what is going on in other nations, but we can certainly do something about what is happening within our own borders.
On the west coast, it appears that part of the problem is simply sheer laziness…
“In 15 years of doing this job, I’ve never seen them work slower,” said Antonio, who has spent hours waiting at Los Angeles County ports for cargo to be loaded. “The crane operators take their time, like three to four hours to get just one container. You can’t say anything to them, or they will just go [help] someone else.
The shortages continue to intensify, and we are being told that they will be even worse by the time the end of December rolls around. According to USA Today, the following are in particularly short supply right now…
Ben & Jerry flavors
Carbonated drinks
Chicken
Coffee
Diapers
Fish sticks
Frozen Meals
Heinz ketchup packets
Marie Callender’s pot pies
McCormick Gourmet spices
Rice Krispie Treats
Sour Patch Kids
Toilet paper
How hard is it to make toilet paper, put it in a truck and drive it to stores around the country?
It seems like we have been talking about toilet paper shortages for nearly two years now.
When is it going to end?
To me, the food shortages are particularly alarming.
This is the United States of America.
This sort of thing is not supposed to happen here.
But it is happening.
GRA:I'll vouch for TV dinners(Stouffers).Also,weird things like Dean's potato chip French onion dip--gone for 3 weeks.Margarine is low,canned soup by Progresso(chicken noodle/rice)very scattered,bacon just up and disappeared,hamburg and ground beef are on a "if you're timing is good" basis,Pedialyte and lower sugar Gatorade--put them on a milk carton as MIA.
--GRA