The Port Strike Is Leading To Panic Buying At Costco

A strike affecting Eastern and Gulf Coast ports in the U.S. is indirectly leading to product shortages, according to comments on social media (see Mashed's previous reporting on how the port strike might potentially affect grocery shopping). In a Reddit thread, a Costco employee noted that shoppers are panic buying paper towels and toilet paper, though neither product is affected by the strike, which involves items such as fruit, auto parts, and chocolate among other goods. Similar shortages have affected a Virginia-based Walmart location, as shared on X, formerly known as Twitter. The poster shared an image of nearly empty shelves with the caption "Toilet paper hoarding 2.0!"

The port strike will likely lead to shortages and is anticipated to have an economic impact that will become more severe the longer the strike goes on. However, many of the products currently being hoarded are not impacted by the strike, which means that overzealous customers are creating shortages themselves. 

The port strike only affects items that are shipped to the U.S. from other countries and offloaded at the Eastern and Gulf Coast ports. While the strike likely means that a banana shortage is imminent (as the majority of bananas sold in America are imported from Ecuador and other South American nations), items like toilet paper and paper towels are not affected. When it comes to toilet paper, most of it is manufactured in the U.S. or trucked in from Mexico and Canada. Therefore, it's not necessary to ship the product from any location, which means that toilet paper will remain accessible during the port strike. Major paper towel brands employ a similar model when it comes to distribution, so they're also protected from strike-induced shortages. 

This incident is calling to mind the toilet paper shortages that accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic, and consumers are just as frustrated now as they were then. A Reddit commenter reacted to the news of the panic-buying, stating, "90% of TP production is domestic! It arrives on trucks, not through ports!" Other commenters claim similar issues are occurring at Costco locations in Gilbert, Arizona, and Northern California. Another person reported there also appears to be a run on bottled water at their local Costco. While the port strike will likely have negative effects, panic buying accessible items will only make the situation worse for American consumers.