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An Industry Insider Just Revealed The Truth About What Is Really Behind The Shortages At Our Local Supermarkets
Economic Collapse Blog ^ | 9/26/21 | Michael Snyder

Posted on 09/28/2021 2:31:57 PM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal

The supply chain crisis that our supermarkets are facing is far worse than the mainstream media has been telling us. The mainstream media keeps trying to put a happy face on the “temporary” shortages, but an industry insider has let me know what is really going on behind the scenes. This particular insider runs a grocery store in Maine, and he says that things are as bad as he has ever seen. In fact, he says that he has “never seen anything close to what is happening now”. The email that he sent me the other day greatly alarmed me, and I asked him if I could share it with all of you. He gave me permission to do so, as long as I didn’t use his name. I haven’t received an email this startling in a long time. As you read this email, I think that you will quickly understand why I am saying that…

I’m self employed for 25 years, now, independent IGA affiliated grocery store in coastal Maine.

Supply issues are real! My supplier has limited us on orders for about a month now (limited the physical number of cases we can order)

Their issue is/was mainly the help crisis in their warehouse … order pickers and truck drivers. Same story everywhere, I know. Many of the items your reader commented about in this article are the same here … very limited gatorade, and gallon water is sketchy at best. Sometimes we get it, sometimes we don’t. I’ve not seen many supply issues in produce, rather poor quality issues there. Much more than normal. Deli / bakery … yes, lots of out of stocks and “long term unavailable” as my supplier likes to word it on the invoice.

In the center store – dry grocery … like others are saying, tons of out of stocks.

Meat supply is “fair” but pricing is extremely high. Shockingly high to me. The middle class is slowly being destroyed with these prices hikes … death by 1000 cuts of sorts, I guess.

My Frito Lay delivery person tells me that he is getting 55-60% of what he’s ordering. My last Nabisco order had 30% out of stocks. Over the years, we always get 99-100% of what was ordered. Pepperidge Farm Cookies … he tells me some weeks he’s only getting HALF of what he orders. These folks all work on commission …. if they don’t (or can’t) sell it to me … they don’t get paid. Or get paid less. When we place our liquor order (twice a week) out of stocks there are running 30% most orders. This commodity was ALWAYS 99.5 to 100% fill rate over the years …. always.

It’s frustrating. As I said … self employed 25 years, and worked for Kroger for 25 years before that … so 50-51 years in this business.

Never seen anything close to what is happening now. Add to that — a far left governor, and both houses here in Maine democrat controlled …. I just know we are on the verge of another mask mandate, and a lock down of sorts would not surprise me again as we move into the colder months. As you’ve seen I’m sure, Maine is in the news with COVID case surges (so they say)

I come to work every day just holding my breath for what is next … for our business and the 35 people I employ here in Maine.

This industry insider is trying to order normal quantities, but his suppliers are often unable to completely fulfill them.

As you can see from the email, the shortages are widespread, and this is the worst that they have been during the entire pandemic so far.

If there is something that you need to stock up on, I would grab it if it is still on the shelves, because pretty soon it may be completely gone.

On Friday I went to the grocery store and they were out of several things that I wanted to purchase. Unfortunately, we continue to get more confirmations that this is going to become the “new normal”.

For example, according to Bloomberg meat reserves in this country have plunged to dangerously low levels…

A U.S. report Wednesday showed beef reserves down 7.7% from a year ago in August. Poultry supplies slumped 20% and pork bellies, which are sliced into bacon, dropped 44% to the lowest levels since 2017.

In most cases supermarkets still have meat on the shelves, but it is definitely a lot more expensive than it used to be, and we are being told to brace ourselves for more price hikes in the months ahead.

Of course other types of retailers are facing severe supply shocks as well. A few days ago, another reader sent me an email in which he described what he is seeing at his local pharmacy…

The big issue, however, is at the local drug store; Rite Aid. The place is thin at best and stripped in some areas (last week there was no Zinc available). The beer cases are notably sparse. The main issue, however, is at the pharmacy. Six or eight months ago you could walk in and have your prescription filled inside of 20 minutes. If you called in the prescription the day before it was waiting for you. Not so any more. Yesterday I went to pick up an RX for my wife that had been called in last week. Not only was it not ready but I had to wait an hour before it was filled. There were nine cars in the drive up queue. I opted to walk in and it was nearly as bad. The young woman that helped me was clearly not local with bicolor hair and a large, glaringly obvious, in your face, Baphomet symbol around her neck.

I had a chat with the manager on the way out and asked him what was up with the Pharmacy staffing. I hadn’t seen the regular pharmacist for a few months. He blamed it all on the city for not having any affordable housing (lame) and mentioned that Albertson’s pharmacy, Albertson’s and Ridley’s were all very short on help (true).

Right now, dozens and dozens of drugs are in short supply.

In fact, the official FDA drug shortage list has 149 entries on it right now.

That is the most that I have ever seen.

As shortages persist, retailers are going to start implementing more limits. Last week, we learned that Costco has already started to pull the trigger…

Costco on Thursday said it was reinstating limits on purchases of toilet paper, paper towels and bottled water.

They don’t call it “rationing”, but that is essentially what it is.

And we are also being told to expect significant price increases, because supply chain issues are causing costs to go through the roof…

Costco this week joined the long list of retailers sounding the alarm about escalating shipping prices and the accompanying supply chain issues. The warehouse retailer, which had a similar cautionary tone in May, was joined by athletic wear giant Nike and economic bellwethers FedEx and General Mills in discussing similar concerns.

The cost to ship containers overseas has soared in recent months. Getting a 40-foot container from Shanghai to New York cost about $2,000 a year and a half ago, just before the Covid pandemic. Now, it runs some $16,000, according to Bank of America.

I have been warning that rampant inflation and shortages were coming for a long time, but a lot of people didn’t want to believe me at first.

If you were one of those doubters, do you believe me now?

During the first half of this year, many economic optimists assured us that the U.S. economy would be “booming” by this point.

But instead our economic infrastructure is being shaken on a very basic level, and we are facing enormous price hikes and very painful shortages throughout the rest of this year and into next year.

Events have begun to slide out of control, and it certainly wouldn’t take too much to push us into a full-blown avalanche.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Conspiracy; Food; Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: covidstooges; economy; foodshortages; foodsupply; inflation; logistics; plandemic; shortages
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1 posted on 09/28/2021 2:31:57 PM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal
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To: Roman_War_Criminal
CLICKBAIT. Tells you nothing about causes of shortages, but pimps his new (and probably worthless) book at the end.
2 posted on 09/28/2021 2:44:13 PM PDT by Chad C. Mulligan
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To: Chad C. Mulligan

thank you


3 posted on 09/28/2021 2:44:35 PM PDT by Mr. K (No consequence of repealing obamacare is worse than obamacare itself)
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To: Roman_War_Criminal

I can believe much of this, but the “trucker shortage” is hard to rationalize given the huge number of trucks on the road vs cars.

Unless they are transporting nothing but sailboat fuel, I cannot correlate what my eyes are seeing with the claims of trucker shortages.

I will agree something is seriously amiss in the distribution system and maybe my lying eyes are fooling me.

I do know there is a massive backlog of ships off Long Beach Ca waiting to be offloaded. It looks like a NASCAR parking lot for ships.


4 posted on 09/28/2021 2:44:37 PM PDT by Wurlitzer (Nothing says "ignorance" like Islam! 969 )
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To: Roman_War_Criminal

This is anecdotal, and not groceries, but I’ve been wanting to buy a particular generator for a while and just haven’t gotten around to buying it. I looked at one a little while ago and the price has gone from $800 to $1300 in one year. From my perspective in went up that amount all at once; I never saw the price going up.


5 posted on 09/28/2021 2:47:15 PM PDT by suthener ( )
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To: Roman_War_Criminal

I am a large consumer of auto parts

The shortage isn’t just food.

My suppliers are warning me of coming shortages in many common parts.

I think the used parts business is going to boom soon.

A old junk yard owner told me he makes money in any economy. A strong one scrap metal is worth a lot. A weak economy parts sell well.

His advice holds true today. So much so I am waiting on epa tests on an existing yard to make a offer.


6 posted on 09/28/2021 2:48:01 PM PDT by cableguymn (We need a redneck in the white house.... But the fact checkers said thein story was false!)
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To: Roman_War_Criminal

I kind of skimmed through the article and never saw a reason given for WHY this is happening. A shortage of truck drivers? Declines in production because of labor shortages or Covid shutdowns? High fuel prices? Something else?


7 posted on 09/28/2021 2:49:22 PM PDT by Steve_Seattle
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To: Roman_War_Criminal

My wife is a veterinarian. Lifesaving drugs are either on bo or have doubled or more in price. Specialty dog foods for older or special needs dogs are on bo or she gets just a few bags to tie her over


8 posted on 09/28/2021 2:49:41 PM PDT by setter
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To: Roman_War_Criminal

Pharmacies seem normal here.


9 posted on 09/28/2021 2:49:45 PM PDT by steve86 (Prophecies of Maelmhaedhoc O'Morgair (Latin form: Malachy))
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To: Chad C. Mulligan

Also, the grocery store owner (if he even exists) refuses to give his name. So this is a ‘some guy told some other guy’ story.

No disrespect meant to the original poster. And shortages do exist. But this particular post is rather suspect.


10 posted on 09/28/2021 2:52:21 PM PDT by Leaning Right (I have already previewed or do not wish to preview this composition.)
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To: Wurlitzer

There were 73 ships waiting to unload at LA-Long Beach as of September 19th.


11 posted on 09/28/2021 2:52:35 PM PDT by Pelham (No more words, now we fight)
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To: Roman_War_Criminal

I am convinced this is all a scam by the larger companies. Keep employee numbers down lower than normal, less wages and health care and then double or triple the price = huge profits


12 posted on 09/28/2021 2:53:16 PM PDT by setter
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To: Chad C. Mulligan

Bingo. It says nothing concerning the reason for shortages.


13 posted on 09/28/2021 2:53:31 PM PDT by Fungi
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To: Roman_War_Criminal

One thing I’ve realized in talking to people is that while there are shortages, the chain stores are allocating.

One supermarket in a blue collar/lower income town has lots of empty spaces on shelves. The same store over in the upscale bedroom community lacks nothing.


14 posted on 09/28/2021 2:54:10 PM PDT by LostInBayport (When there are more people riding in the cart than there are pulling it, the cart stops moving...)
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To: Roman_War_Criminal

The guy that runs the company that mows my lawn quit today. He explained that he could not find anyone that wanted a job. He is cutting down his business because no one wants to work.


15 posted on 09/28/2021 2:54:10 PM PDT by JoSixChip (2020: The year of unreported truths. )
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To: Steve_Seattle

It looks like there are several factors, but for those who lived through the Carter years it all sounds familiar.

Once major inflation hits, there is a disconnect between the ask price and the bid price—for just about everything—and at each level of the supply chain.

So suppose you are the wholesaler for paper towels. Your primary supplier just asked for a ten percent increase in price. Do you pay for the paper towels or do you wait hoping the price will go down if you are patient?

Everyone makes different decisions—some pay the new high price and some wait.

If the price is paid all the way through the supply chain then the goods are available but expensive.

If the price is not paid at any point in the supply chain there is a shortage of the goods.

That is one factor—of course there are others.


16 posted on 09/28/2021 2:59:11 PM PDT by cgbg (A kleptocracy--if they can keep it. Think of it as the Cantillon Effect in action.)
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To: Roman_War_Criminal

Reads to me this guy is going to have us economically collapsed come H, or Highwater.

I do believe the Democrats will do their best to achieve the goal of economic collapse with a strong possibility of succeeding.

We need to be rid of the Democrats PERIOD!


17 posted on 09/28/2021 2:59:48 PM PDT by rockinqsranch (Dems, Libs, Socialists Call 'em what you will, they all have fairies livin' in their trees)
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To: Roman_War_Criminal; Tilted Irish Kilt; Pollard; null and void

Ping


18 posted on 09/28/2021 3:04:44 PM PDT by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith)
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To: suthener

For once I recognized a good deal when I saw one — A year ago noticed a 10 KW gas / propane genset with good reviews on clearance for $750. Snapped it up. Maybe it was 2 years?


19 posted on 09/28/2021 3:07:17 PM PDT by steve86 (Prophecies of Maelmhaedhoc O'Morgair (Latin form: Malachy))
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To: cgbg

Thanks. I’ve noticed a few empty shelves, but of seemingly unrelated items. All last year, drain cleaning solutionslike Drano seemed to be in short supply. The other day, my store was out of tomato juice and regular V8. Chicken bouillon was also in short supply. A nearby 7-11 was short of frozen products like ice cream and pizza. And I’m once again seeing reduced supplies of paper products - toilet tissue, paper towels, and paper plates, although it still isn’t as bad as last year.


20 posted on 09/28/2021 3:09:27 PM PDT by Steve_Seattle
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