Supply Chain Breakdowns

[Lambykins]

Latest item up here... plastic bags.
We are using paper bags until we can get plastic ones again.
We are one of the states that doesn't charge for plastic bags.

[Ever (Zombiepreparation)]

Latest item up here... plastic bags.
We are using paper bags until we can get plastic ones again.
We are one of the states that doesn't charge for plastic bags.

Thanks for the heads up! I just went down to the building bag recycle container and snagged a couple dozen. Will repeat as it fills again until I get a good stash.

[Ever (Zombiepreparation)]

Just finished restocking my grocery bag preps. Tiny apartment so I use them for trash bags.  Fold them flat and I can get maybe 25 to a gallon ziplock and store in a small box in storage cage assigned to the apartment.  Have 11 ziplocks in storage backup & 1 ziplock in apartment.  So 12 if my small Dillons stops getting them for awhile.

Yesterday the store suddenly had dozen's' of the little blue Sorry, Out of Stock notices up all over the shelf stable part of the store.  And one big Supplier Problem, Don't Know When notice in the juice department.

This is an interesting article on a couple of aspects of the supply chain issue.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/10/26/supply-chain-ports-fees-biden

[Lambykins]

Will this shit EVER end?
If you like turkey for your holiday meals, especially if your target size is 10 to 15 pounds...if you see one, get it! Especially if you can find one at a reasonable price.
Meat Dept manager was informed last week that his order for turkeys will be cut to 40% of what he ordered last year AND the price will probably double, if not triple by Christmas.
Dairy Dept has had certain items put on their *limited* list: Philadelphia Cream Cheese, ALL pie crusts (the kind that you pull out of a box and they are just flat crusts ready to put in pie pan), certain types of cheese....
Grocery Manager Dept is pulling what little hair he has out...looks like Christmas candy is about to go on the limited list. So, he ordered a shit-ton of it...got a call back today that said he might get half.
And on and on it goes...

[SCBrian]

Lamby - If it helps, tell him to watch for the patterns, and he / they can sometimes slide an order in when the pressure is off.  I know at work, there is a definite pattern to when things are available (papergoods) etc.  and I've learned to order counter to the pattern.   

[Anianna]

Latest item up here... plastic bags.
We are using paper bags until we can get plastic ones again.
We are one of the states that doesn't charge for plastic bags.

I ordered two five quart jugs of motor oil from our local Walmart.  They both have handles.  They each arrived double-bagged.  Four completely unnecessary plastic bags.  So freaking wasteful.  Apparently, Walmart around here is not yet hurting for plastic bags.  The other stores I order from have always used paper, so I can't compare on that front.

[MPMalloy]

Latest item up here... plastic bags.
We are using paper bags until we can get plastic ones again.
We are one of the states that doesn't charge for plastic bags.

I ordered two five quart jugs of motor oil from our local Walmart.  They both have handles.  They each arrived double-bagged.  Four completely unnecessary plastic bags.  So freaking wasteful.  Apparently, Walmart around here is not yet hurting for plastic bags.  The other stores I order from have always used paper, so I can't compare on that front.

Ani, what did you give for the oil & did you get any filters or such?

[RoneKiln]

I'm finally seeing impacts in my area. I've been sheltered from most of it so far. Car prices are through the roof, but they have still easily been available if you're willing to pay stupid amounts of money.

Last week I finally saw gaps start to appear on shelves in the stores and prices jump. Not sure how much of the price jump is inflation vs supply chain disruptions. I know it's a combination.

Veggies were similar price to the week before.
Cheese jumped 60% in price in one week.
Bacon jumped similarly.
Chicken jumped 20%.
Fruit was hard for me to gauge due to normal seasonal price shifts hitting now.

Restaurant prices have jumped massively. I'd guess 40% or more. Not sure how much of that is from labor shortages. Servers are clearly overworked can't seem to get orders right. Luckily I've nkt seen anyone being a jerk to service people. Most people in my area seem pretty understanding.

I'm seeing more gaps in shelves again. For groceries, it's not a complete lack of products. It'll be certain sizes of packages or certain brands that are out.

In the hardware stores, I saw big gaps in various straps, bungee cords, etc. I also saw big gaps in smaller tool sets. If I want to buy a large shop size set of sockets and wrenches they have plenty. But if I want a small basic set for my vehicle kit or a gift to a kid, there's nothing. Nearly half an aisle of empty shelves.

Price of wood is still insane and real erratic as well.

[RoneKiln]

https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/a-simple-piece-of-steel-and-wheels-is-holding-up-the-global-supply-chain-11635452843

I meant to include this in my last post.

[Anianna]

Latest item up here... plastic bags.
We are using paper bags until we can get plastic ones again.
We are one of the states that doesn't charge for plastic bags.

I ordered two five quart jugs of motor oil from our local Walmart.  They both have handles.  They each arrived double-bagged.  Four completely unnecessary plastic bags.  So freaking wasteful.  Apparently, Walmart around here is not yet hurting for plastic bags.  The other stores I order from have always used paper, so I can't compare on that front.

Ani, what did you give for the oil & did you get any filters or such?

I didn't buy filters this time.  I keep extra oil for my husband's old car that tends to burn through it more quickly than our other cars.  I buy Valvoline full synthetic for high mileage cars and pretty sure it was just shy of $25 for the five quart.

[MPMalloy]

Latest item up here... plastic bags.
We are using paper bags until we can get plastic ones again.  We are one of the states that doesn't charge for plastic bags.

I ordered two five quart jugs of motor oil from our local Walmart.  They both have handles.  They each arrived double-bagged.  Four completely unnecessary plastic bags.  So freaking wasteful.  Apparently, Walmart around here is not yet hurting for plastic bags.  The other stores I order from have always used paper, so I can't compare on that front.

Ani, what did you give for the oil & did you get any filters or such?

I didn't buy filters this time.  I keep extra oil for my husband's old car that tends to burn through it more quickly than our other cars.  I buy Valvoline full synthetic for high mileage cars and pretty sure it was just shy of $25 for the five quart.

Damn!

[Anianna]

The latest things we can't get in my area are Tyson frozen chicken nuggets and chicken strips.  I can't find popcorn shrimp from any brand or breaded fish fillets that aren't beer battered (I just don't like the taste of the beer battered ones).  I can't get Tropicana brand OJ, but Simply Orange seems to be doing just fine at several stores.  I guess I'm going to have to stop being lazy and bread my own fish and shrimp.  The rest of it is stuff the kids want, so they can bread their own chicken and squeeze their own oranges.   

The stores we used to get steaks from seem to be having difficulty stocking the nicer cuts.  Everything is looking pathetic, so my husband tried a grocery store we don't go to because it's upscale and unnecessarily expensive.  He found the nicer steaks at not-so-nice prices.  I need the kids to move out so I can afford my husband's steak habit. 

[NapalmMan67]

Like Anianna, frozen chicken stuff last weekend was absent from the shelves.  A week before, it was salad dressings, before that it was TP, before that it was most soups, before that it was butter.  So a bunch of intermittent OOS items over the last few months.  It's kind of sad and scary at the same time when you have more of an item in your pantry at home, than the grocery does on it's shelves.

One of the stocker people I asked at a Hyvee, said they've only been receiving about 40-50% of what they order from suppliers.  I've heard from a few people I work with, Wally World has constant OOS items.


Being a Mtl. Mgr/Purchasing Agent right now is a nightmare.  I've had suppliers go from usual 3-5 day or 2-3 week delivery times, to now telling me 3+ months.  Steel has been hit or miss all year for various sizes and types.  One particular size I ordered in June, and just last week I was given a "firm" delivery for the end of November.


.

[Raptor]

Being a Mtl. Mgr/Purchasing Agent right now is a nightmare.  I've had suppliers go from usual 3-5 day or 2-3 week delivery times, to now telling me 3+ months.  Steel has been hit or miss all year for various sizes and types.  One particular size I ordered in June, and just last week I was given a "firm" delivery for the end of November.


.

I have experienced that also. A simple chemical (sodium bromide) that is typically a phone call away is now in short supply and priced at silly levels.

The regular supplier said he could get it but we had to prepay for the order and wait for 6 to 8 weeks for it to be delivered. The prepayment was required because the supplier's source was now requiring prepayment before they would manufacture it. Due to the delay previous orders were cancelled and the supplier was left  trying to sell the batch. They decided no more of that. Pay up front and they will make a batch which will take at least 45 days to get to it and ship it so cash up front and wait up to 60 days.

[SCBrian]

Plastic Utensils.  Cut from my order yesterday.  Informed by supplier that they don't even have an appoint from their supplier to deliver until ~2022.  Apparently sitting on a ship in LA... 
We have now raped the local supply to stretch as far as we can. 

[MPMalloy]

I cannot order 🥓 from the meat counter online.

Every store I plug in to that site to order from has 1/2 my regular purchases showing OOS.

[wolf_from_wv]

Now, there's a Santa Claus shortage...

https://fortune.com/2021/11/11/2021-santa-shortage-christmas-mall-santas/

[rlail]

I'm finally seeing impacts in my area. I've been sheltered from most of it so far. Car prices are through the roof, but they have still easily been available if you're willing to pay stupid amounts of money.

Last week I finally saw gaps start to appear on shelves in the stores and prices jump. Not sure how much of the price jump is inflation vs supply chain disruptions. I know it's a combination.

Veggies were similar price to the week before.
Cheese jumped 60% in price in one week.
Bacon jumped similarly.
Chicken jumped 20%.
Fruit was hard for me to gauge due to normal seasonal price shifts hitting now.

Restaurant prices have jumped massively. I'd guess 40% or more. Not sure how much of that is from labor shortages. Servers are clearly overworked can't seem to get orders right. Luckily I've nkt seen anyone being a jerk to service people. Most people in my area seem pretty understanding.

I'm seeing more gaps in shelves again. For groceries, it's not a complete lack of products. It'll be certain sizes of packages or certain brands that are out.

In the hardware stores, I saw big gaps in various straps, bungee cords, etc. I also saw big gaps in smaller tool sets. If I want to buy a large shop size set of sockets and wrenches they have plenty. But if I want a small basic set for my vehicle kit or a gift to a kid, there's nothing. Nearly half an aisle of empty shelves.

Price of wood is still insane and real erratic as well.

Wife and I go to Sam's once a month when the kids are at college.   Usually a months worth runs around $375....   Paid $ 560 last weekend, almost had a stroke.   

[NapalmMan67]

I heard on the business report this morning, coffee bean pricing has gone up 85% this year. My old lady is a coffee junkie, so this hurts my wallet big time.


But riddle me this, crude oil was down from $84.xx/barrel last week to $75.xx/barrel this morning.  Regular Unleaded went up $0.07/gallon from yesterday to today in my AO.   So WTH?


Was at the store last night and really no Poultry to be had, other than Turkeys-  None of which were under 18lbs. 

[RoneKiln]

But riddle me this, crude oil was down from $84.xx/barrel last week to $75.xx/barrel this morning.  Regular Unleaded went up $0.07/gallon from yesterday to today in my AO.   So WTH?

It generally takes about 6 months for changes in price of crude to ripple down to the pump. There's also a lot of additional factors in the price of fuel at the pump.