Across social media and in online neighborhood groups, people are panicking about toilet paper supply once again, this time because of strikes at ports along the East and Gulf coasts that started this week.
People are reporting empty toilet paper and paper towel aisles that they attribute to consumers panic buying — perhaps remembering the early days of the pandemic — due to fears of supply shortages if the strikes linger.
But experts say there is no cause for concern.
The vast majority of toilet and facial tissue that’s sold in the U.S. is made here.
“Rest assured, tissue products are being manufactured and shipped — just as they are 52 weeks each year,” American Forest & Paper President and CEO Heidi Brock said in a statement.
Here’s what you need to know.
Why are dockworkers striking?
On Tuesday, 45,000 dockworkers — the people who load and unload cargo ships — at 36 U.S. ports from Maine to Texas went on strike after their contract expired Monday. This includes Savannah’s bustling port.
The dockworkers’ union, the International Longshoremen’s Association, and the shipping companies and port operators that make up the U.S. Maritime Alliance, have been unable to come to an agreement on a new contract. It is the dockworkers’ first work stoppage since 1977.
Credit: Katelyn Myrick
Credit: Katelyn Myrick
At the center of the dispute between the two sides are pay and automation. The ILA wants a 61.5% pay bump for its members over the life of the next six-year contract. This would push the average pay to $63 an hour or $131,000 a year — not including overtime — by 2030. U.S. Maritime Alliance leaders have balked at that number and instead are offering an increase of nearly 50%, according to a statement released Monday.
The dockworkers’ unions have worked to slow the introduction of efficiency-focused technologies into port operations. The ILA has particularly held a hard line, pushing back against automations that eliminate jobs, such as optical scanners at facility gates and remote-operated cranes in container yards.
When will it end?
It is unclear when the strikes will end, though Michael Toma, a professor of economics at Georgia Southern University, said he would be very surprised if it went longer than a month.
“The port operators are losing revenue on a daily basis while the union workers are not processing containers,” Toma told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
At the same time, Toma said, the union strike fund, which provides financial support to striking workers, likely does not have enough to cover a very long strike, which would put pressure on the union to come to an agreement so it doesn’t lose the support of its members.
“Those two facets together, those represent an incentive structure for both parties to come to an agreeable solution sooner rather than later,” he said.
Will stores run out of toilet paper?
Stores might run out, but only because of panic buying, not supply shortages, said Toma.
“Approximately 90% of toilet paper in the U.S. is produced domestically, so there’s little reason to think that the supply of toilet paper is going to run out as a result of strikes in the port,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Publix echoed that sentiment in a statement, saying, “Our suppliers’ paper products are made in the U.S. and not impacted by the current port strike. However, our customers can help us and their neighbors by only purchasing the items they need. This will assist in preventing temporary shortages.”
Shortages do not seem to be widespread as of now. At four different grocery stores Thursday morning in Decatur and Atlanta there was no sign of a shortage of toilet paper or other goods.
The only sign, literally, of a potential disruption was a laminated placard at the Kroger in the Edgewood Retail District advising customers they were limited to six packages of toilet paper and paper towels “due to limited supply.”
“To ensure all customers have access to what they need, we have proactively and temporarily set purchase limits per customer on certain products including paper towels, toilet paper and water,” a Kroger spokesperson said in a statement.
Publix has not instituted purchasing limits on certain items yet, but may in the future “to assist in inventory levels stabilizing,” a spokesperson for the company said.
Will other goods be impacted by the strikes?
Toma said consumers may see some supply issues with certain perishable items such as bananas, because nearly 100% of the fruit in the U.S. is imported, some imported seafood, and European alcohol, cars and auto parts.
“The impact on the food supply in the nation is not going to be significant,” he said. But consumers should be prepared to face some different choices in the fruit department. Shelves won’t be empty because of the strike, Toma said, but there may be “some empty spaces resulting from panic-buying.”
On the other hand, the strikes may also cause the prices of some goods to come down. One of the top exports of the Port of Savannah is poultry, so if producers can’t ship the chicken to foreign markets, they may try to off-load it here in the U.S., which could increase supply and drive down prices, Toma said.
“It’s better to sell it at a loss than to throw it away.”
— Staff writer Adam Van Brimmer contributed to this report.
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