ECON Report food and grocery price increases/shortages here - UPDATE, new runs on the stores

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Went to the QFC in Northgate today (North Seattle) and noticed it was fairly well stocked. Something in the parking lot however caught my attention. The Seattle Police have mounted a solar powered portable surveillance camera rig that towered about 20 feet featuring several 360 degree dome cameras to observe the store and any goings on in the vicinity. Why ? What are they anticipating ?
Have the same thing at a couple of Walmart’s and such. Been there for months.
 

nebb

Veteran Member
Went to Winco in Vancouver Wa today, meat selection was near normal for everything. Pasta was picked over, holes in cereal, peanut butter, canned meats.....only empty spots....no tp, Kleenex, sanitizer, rubbing alcohol.....

Some people with masks, gloves....people pretty chill. I asked the cashier if she was getting a break from all the crazy......she sounded ready to cry.....
 

Leedaisy

Contributing Member
Central WV. Yesterday early morning - pleasantly surprised. A few holes here and there but I got TP - no limits just a polite sign saying essentially - dont be a jerk. Most customers had gloves on- this I found surprising.
 

Terrwyn

Veteran Member
Neighbor went to local Stater Bros for me today. Needed milk, tomato's and lettuce. They only had organic everything left.
So got what I wanted if more expensive.
 

Murt

Veteran Member
GA goes on travel restrictions tomorrow-Friday- at noon
I have not been to a store in a few days but I am getting reports from others that several of the stores in the middle GA area have been pretty much stripped
I will try to get to one tomorrow and see
I stopped at the butcher shop that is out in the county--20+ miles to a town or city of more than 1200--it was very busy
I talked to the owner and he told me that it had been non stop since he opened at 7:30
 

Melodi

Disaster Cat
*BIG DOT!" - Housemate reports NO FRESH MILK in ANY of the shops she went to in our nearest rural shopping town here in rural Ireland.

She was able to get one liter of lactose-free milk for the cats, but that was it - we do have a stash of canned and dried milk (both of which cost a lot more here than they do in the US) and we should be getting deliveries from our local dairy (and organic farm) today and Monday.

But as I posted in the other thread, the government was already asking farmer TO LOWER MILK PRODUCTION so this is lack of milk is a result of a supply chain/processing failure NOT the lack of cows making milk.

Our next-door neighbor is a dairy farmer, I may ask Nightwolf to pick his brains next time they meet on the path between our houses.
 

mzkitty

I give up.
Had to go to the bank this morning. Really thought it would only be drive-up and/or ATM, but believe it or not, it was open. They left all the front doors open, to air it out, I'm assuming; and they had the 6-foot markers on the floor. Still not bad, and we could deal with a real teller. I was pleased and impressed.

Then we had to go to CVS; we went to the smaller one up the street from us for a change, and they had everything we wanted in the way of OTC meds and even Kleenex. The Kleenex was mostly the lotion stuff that nobody wanted, but we did get a few odd other ones laying around. No rubbing alcohol yet. Hardly anybody in the store.

After that, a quick stop at the food store. Again, more markers on the floor and the register people were wearing masks. Seemed to be out of a lot of the canned veggies (odd, eh?), but everything else they had except for paper products. None to be had.

Then back home to do the de-lousing routine in the shower and all that. In the house for another week or so. It's getting kinda tedious. I must shop, I tells you !!!

:lol:
 

prudentwatcher

Veteran Member
I had to go mail some important legal papers today and on the way home stopped at Family Dollar. This one is tucked in a little shopping mall near us and is never very busy. Don't think many people know about it. I went to get pony tail ties to make homemade face masks. They had plenty of those, and they had tp, paper towels, kleenex, dish soap, and laundry detergent, diapers, as well as a few disinfectant wipes left (I left them and the lady behind me picked them up). One lady came up to the checkout with 2 carts loaded and I peeked down a couple of aisles. They had stuff that other stores didn't, like peanut butter, sugar and lots of canned stuff. Might want to look for some of these little tucked away places as they might have some things that are needed.
 

AlaskaSue

North to the Future
Imagine living on an island in Alaska....I'm sending my new jar of yeast to step-mom on Kodiak Island. The ferry service is delayed until at least May, Ravn Air stopped service to all but a few communites in the state; Alaska Air will have only one flight there a day (and I hope they pick up the mail Ravn did). The few stores they have there are getting bare - good thing she has a good, deep supply for most things. And folks really look out for her there :)

But to replenish my yeast locally (I don't really HAVE to have it, just a want for the people here who do still eat bread)...it's a one-week wait for the order pick-up at Fred Meyer. Kind of surprised since last week it was only 3 days. But really we can do okay here for a long time....
 

20Gauge

TB Fanatic
GA goes on travel restrictions tomorrow-Friday- at noon
I have not been to a store in a few days but I am getting reports from others that several of the stores in the middle GA area have been pretty much stripped
I will try to get to one tomorrow and see
I stopped at the butcher shop that is out in the county--20+ miles to a town or city of more than 1200--it was very busy
I talked to the owner and he told me that it had been non stop since he opened at 7:30
I can confirm Glynn County Ga is basically stripped bare. It really wasn't hard to do.

The situation is as follows based on the wife who works at Walmart. This is a preview into our Walmart only but it is a sign of the stress the supply chain is going through.

1) Fewer trucks are arriving daily.
2) The trucks that arrive are full, but not of food... things like chilli etc. They are only partially filled with food.
3) The bread people are delivering 2 times daily for the small bread items, but the big bread truck has not been seen for weeks.
4) The shelves are still empty. The store is not able to get enough to fill the shelves and keep stock on them by the end of the day. They are still going bare before lunch.
5) Any of the really good stuff like meats, eggs and cheese are gone... seldom in stock and only for an hour or three.
6) She is beginning to see gaps or much lower stock levels on things like household sheets, etc that are often bought from China.

It goes on, but we are seeing a disruption of the supply chain in a company that controls its trucks, suppliers and all other factors of its business like the 4th Reich had risen and they can't get what they need.

Also, we went to the 2nd day bread store, shipments from Florida are non-existent. They haven't gotten one for over a month. Their overall stock levels are like one of those pictures from the Soviet Union grocery stores. When I mentioned how the store looked, the wife said she didn't understand what that was. I told her she just lived through it.

Lastly,

Bi-weekly top off of supplies by the wife was interesting. She went to Sams and first the line was done to the Hobby Lobby which for those who are not familiar with the area, is more than a football field away. Everything was organized, but there was not food. She was there at 8 am to shop. The picture I showed weeks ago of empty racks still applies.
 

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Red Baron

Paleo-Conservative
_______________
I can confirm Glynn County Ga is basically stripped bare. It really wasn't hard to do.

The situation is as follows based on the wife who works at Walmart. This is a preview into our Walmart only but it is a sign of the stress the supply chain is going through.

1) Fewer trucks are arriving daily.
2) The trucks that arrive are full, but not of food... things like chilli etc. They are only partially filled with food.
3) The bread people are delivering 2 times daily for the small bread items, but the big bread truck has not been seen for weeks.
4) The shelves are still empty. The store is not able to get enough to fill the shelves and keep stock on them by the end of the day. They are still going bare before lunch.
5) Any of the really good stuff like meats, eggs and cheese are gone... seldom in stock and only for an hour or three.
6) She is beginning to see gaps or much lower stock levels on things like household sheets, etc that are often bought from China.

It goes on, but we are seeing a disruption of the supply chain in a company that controls its trucks, suppliers and all other factors of its business like the 4th Reich had risen and they can't get what they need.

Also, we went to the 2nd day bread store, shipments from Florida are non-existent. They haven't gotten one for over a month. Their overall stock levels are like one of those pictures from the Soviet Union grocery stores. When I mentioned how the store looked, the wife said she didn't understand what that was. I told her she just lived through it.

Lastly,

Bi-weekly top off of supplies by the wife was interesting. She went to Sams and first the line was done to the Hobby Lobby which for those who are not familiar with the area, is more than a football field away. Everything was organized, but there was not food. She was there at 8 am to shop. The picture I showed weeks ago of empty racks still applies.

Maybe part of the problem with Wally-World now is their historically hostile and predatory relationship with their suppliers?

I worked for a large international distributor and manufacturer that supplied, Menard's, Sears, and a number of other stores. Under no circumstance would we deal with Wally World.

Wally-World essentially wrote the book on "aging" their accounts payable. In plain English, they would not pay their suppliers for up to three months or even more in some cases. Typical industry terms are net 30 or 60 days at the most. Complain too loudly and Wally-World would threaten drop you as a supplier and then demand price concessions on many occasions.

I suspect a lot of suppliers are reconsidering their relationship with Wally-World right now?
 

Murt

Veteran Member
Stopped by a local Publix this morning and is seemed to be reasonably well stocked considering
There were some thin place on the shelves and the meat looked to be picked over but there was a small amount in the case
There were several people in the store but it wasn't packed and everything was orderly
again this was in middle GA
 

Firebird

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Ran by Walmart this morning, and they were limiting the number of customers in the store. The cereal aisle was almost wiped out, cleaning aisle half full, canned goods very low. Employees looked haggard.
 

Grouchy Granny

Deceased
Went to our local Safeway in North Denver CO this morning because I had to pick up an Rx. Unfortunately, I waited until about 11 MDT to go so they were wiped out of a lot of stuff.

No TP, some Paper towels left, milk is only the Lucerne brand (whole milk, GK won't drink the other crap) no eggs except broken ones. Rice, beans still wiped out.

Meat section pretty well stocked so I got some ground pork (which was not there last week) so I can make some homemade eggrolls to go with stir-fry tomorrow. No fresh bean sprouts (big sigh), but I can make them without. Got a really easy recipe that uses shredded 3 color coleslaw mix with the ground pork.

Pasta section still wiped out, but I did get the last jar of pizza sauce so I can make home made pizza Sunday when the YS and GK are gaming on-line. Still not able to get any jars of Parmesan, but that's ok, still have a block in the cheese drawer I can grate when needed.

Lots of people wearing some type of mask (scarf, bandana, home made, you name it).

Our dear gubner put out a message yesterday that we should delay shopping for 2 weeks so that those with EBT cards and on WIC could get their supplies.

My thought (old grouch that I am) is "root hog or die" deal with the same shortage of things the rest of us are. I suppose they'll get "special shopping hours" next - NOT!
 

Red Baron

Paleo-Conservative
_______________
Our dear gubner put out a message yesterday that we should delay shopping for 2 weeks so that those with EBT cards and on WIC could get their supplies.

Interesting. why is the EBT/WIC crowd not expected to behave just like the tax paying members of society and endure the sacrifices of dealing with the current pandemic? Who exactly is "more equal" in this current situation?

Up thread we were touching on the EBT crowd being out the first two weeks of the month in most areas.

Have seen that here in metro-Milwaukee for the longest time. One reason I have gone to home delivery for groceries the last two years. I only go to a store to replenish my martini supply. That is interesting enough for me.

Brand new Range Rovers and Cadillac Escalade SUVs packed with able bodied adults and kids clogging up the handicapped parking spots.

Inside the stores, the kids are literally running around in circles and screaming at the top of their lungs. Parents and kids blocking the aisles so nobody can get through. Cart on one side of the aisle and folks directly on the other side totally clueless to other people trying to go down the aisle.

One and sometimes two shopping carts fully loaded to the top with flavored sugar water, chips, white bread, frozen waffles and a myriad of junk food. Often there is some kind of kefluffle when payment is due at the checkout.

Now, with all of the ongoing sporadic food shortages, it's just a matter of time when trouble will ensue.

We may be rapidly reaching a tipping point in some areas. I would not be surprised to soon see armed security or even police at Wally-World and other large grocers. My nearest Wally-World has dedicated parking spots, up front, for police vehicles and the police average two arrests -daily- for shoplifting. And that is in a Milwaukee suburb, not the inner city.

Social Distancing is a -very- valid strategy now. Both for virus mitigation and for civil unrest.

Things are going to get worse before they get better in my opinion. Stay home.
 
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colonel holman

Veteran Member
Huge lines outside most of our region’s WM as they limit numbers of customers allowed inside. The wait can exceed a hour. CAN YOU SAY “BREAD LINES”, like we had during depression? Any difference?
 

Grouchy Granny

Deceased
Up-thread we were touching on the EBT crowd being out the first two weeks of the month.

Have seen that here in metro-Milwaukee for the longest time. One reason I have gone to home delivery for groceries the last two years.

Brand new Range Rovers and Cadillac Escalade SUVs packed with able bodied adults and kids clogging up the handicapped parking spots.

Inside the stores, the kids are literally running around in circles and screaming at the top of their lungs. Parents and kids blocking the aisles so nobody can get through. Cart on one side of the aisle and folks directly on the other side totally clueless to other people.

One and sometimes two shopping carts fully loaded to the top with flavored sugar water, chips, white bread, frozen waffles and a myriad of junk food.

Now, with all of the ongoing sporadic food shortages, it's just a matter of time when trouble will ensue.

We may be rapidly reaching a tipping point in some areas. I would not be surprised to soon see armed security or even police at Wally-World and other large grocers. My nearestt Wally-World has dedicated parking spots up front for police vehicles and average two arrests -daily- for shoplifting. And that is in a Milwaukee suburb.

Social Distancing is a -very- valid strategy now. Both for virus mitigation and for civil unrest.

Things are going to get worse before they get better in my opinion. Stay home.

At least the Wally I go to is directly across the parking lot from the local police station!

This is a 1 square mile belonging to Lakeside CO and their police force has an office in the little strip mall off to the side.

They are at Wally 4 or 5 times a day for shoplifters, etc.

Not that that gives me any comfort because these guys are total yo-yo's who get their revenoo from stopping people going south bound on Sheridan for 1 mile over the speed limit. I always slow down the minute I go under the bridge over I-70 because they are radaring and parked on the side of Sheridan.

At least I have no need to go there for at least another month. Stocked up on printer cartridges for the printer last time I was there, since we jut got word there will be no going back to school for the rest of this school year.

Rest of what I need I can get elsewhere.
 

Old Gringo

Senior Member
Maybe part of the problem with Wally-World now is their historically hostile and predatory relationship with their suppliers?

I worked for a large international distributor and manufacturer that supplied, Menard's, Sears, and a number of other stores. Under no circumstance would we deal with Wally World.

Wally-World essentially wrote the book on "aging" their accounts payable. In plain English, they would not pay their suppliers for up to three months or even more in some cases. Typical industry terms are net 30 or 60 days at the most. Complain too loudly and Wally-World would threaten drop you as a supplier and then demand price concessions on many occasions.

I suspect a lot of suppliers are reconsidering their relationship with Wally-World right now?
"I suspect a lot of suppliers are reconsidering their relationship with Wally-World right now?"

One would wonder wouldn't they? Grandpa said EVERYTHING has a price. Doesn't have to be monetary.
 

raven

TB Fanatic
4/3/2020 - 17:30 - Outside Decatur, AL - Dollar General.
they had some cheap $1 toilet paper. 8 tiny rolls, single ply safe for septic (the kind you might find in a RV Campsite)
(the great and mighty She made some noise I interpreted as disgust)
there was milk, hot dog buns was the only bread, they had hot dogs and hot dog chili,
and a ton of bottle water (so I guess they are gonna shut down the water department)
Chips were stocked, candy wasn't. Canned goods sparce.
Soda was good but not thick.
garbage bags were picked over.
 

SheWoff

Southern by choice
Dollar General here had eggs for $1.25/doz 2 weeks ago. Today they were at $3.25/doz! No paper products at all. No bread. You can get most things in limited numbers and prices are skyrocketing .
 

FireDance

TB Fanatic
PDW, perhaps you don’t understand. The reason I go to restaurants is to GET THE HELL OUT OF THE HOUSE. All I do is go to work and come home directly after. Day after day after day. There is NO ONE TO TALK TO AT HOME. I just sit there alone every night. I doubt that most of you live like I do.

I WANT TO GO OUT. I WANT TO DO THINGS.
Lol. Call me Dennis. I will keep you entertained w more BS than you probably want to listen to. Seriously, in the same situation. It’s freakin lonely.
 

kittyluvr

Veteran Member
Re Wallyworld's suppliers: A few decades ago I worked for a small manufacturing company that started supplying sewn products for Wallyworld. During the first year's negotiation the Wallyworld purchasing agent told us to give him our best price and we did (a low price making a very small amount because of the volume.)

The second year the Wallyworld purchasing agent told us to cut our prices by 5%. At this point half of what we produced was being sold to Wallyworld. We had to increase our production capabilities to handle the demand from Wallyworld.

Supplying Wallyworld eventually worked out to be a break even proposition, in other words we were just covering the costs to produce the product.

Another issue is once a year when Wallyworld would perform their annual physical inventory count, any old, unsold, or damaged product would just be boxed up as if it were garbage by Wallyworld locations and shipped back to us and a deduction would be made for the purchase price would be made on the next check to us.

Wallyworld never paid via terms of the agreement. Also, Wallyworld locations always claimed the shipments were short product no matter how many times we double or triple checked the items when shipping.

Who in their right mind would want to do business with Wallyworld
 

lonestar09

Veteran Member
Interesting. why is the EBT/WIC crowd not expected to behave just like the tax paying members of society and endure the sacrifices of dealing with the current pandemic? Who exactly is "more equal" in this current situation?

Up thread we were touching on the EBT crowd being out the first two weeks of the month in most areas.

Have seen that here in metro-Milwaukee for the longest time. One reason I have gone to home delivery for groceries the last two years. I only go to a store to replenish my martini supply. That is interesting enough for me.

Brand new Range Rovers and Cadillac Escalade SUVs packed with able bodied adults and kids clogging up the handicapped parking spots.

Inside the stores, the kids are literally running around in circles and screaming at the top of their lungs. Parents and kids blocking the aisles so nobody can get through. Cart on one side of the aisle and folks directly on the other side totally clueless to other people trying to go down the aisle.

One and sometimes two shopping carts fully loaded to the top with flavored sugar water, chips, white bread, frozen waffles and a myriad of junk food. Often there is some kind of kefluffle when payment is due at the checkout.

Now, with all of the ongoing sporadic food shortages, it's just a matter of time when trouble will ensue.

We may be rapidly reaching a tipping point in some areas. I would not be surprised to soon see armed security or even police at Wally-World and other large grocers. My nearest Wally-World has dedicated parking spots, up front, for police vehicles and the police average two arrests -daily- for shoplifting. And that is in a Milwaukee suburb, not the inner city.

Social Distancing is a -very- valid strategy now. Both for virus mitigation and for civil unrest.

Things are going to get worse before they get better in my opinion. Stay home.
2 weeks ago I was already seeing local uniformed county sheriff deputies in Sam's. HEB grocery stores had local PD officers inside already.
 

mourningdove

Pura Vida in my garden
4/3/2020 - 17:30 - Outside Decatur, AL - Dollar General.
they had some cheap $1 toilet paper. 8 tiny rolls, single ply safe for septic (the kind you might find in a RV Campsite)
(the great and mighty She made some noise I interpreted as disgust)
there was milk, hot dog buns was the only bread, they had hot dogs and hot dog chili,
and a ton of bottle water (so I guess they are gonna shut down the water department)
Chips were stocked, candy wasn't. Canned goods sparce.
Soda was good but not thick.
garbage bags were picked over.

(the great and mighty She

Thats a great one, raven, gonna have to remember that one. I have a great and mighty She running around my house too. :chg:
 

Digger

Veteran Member
Name brand canned milk went around $1.20 to $1.68 and yesterday it was $1.88 a can. It has been hard to find also.
 

MinnesotaSmith

Membership Revoked
Dollar General here had eggs for $1.25/doz 2 weeks ago. Today they were at $3.25/doz! No paper products at all. No bread. You can get most things in limited numbers and prices are skyrocketing .

You screwed up in the first place when you went to a dollar store that didn't have "Tree" in its name.
You could have gotten a dozen eggs for a dollar had you done that.
 

MinnesotaSmith

Membership Revoked
Interesting. why is the EBT/WIC crowd not expected to behave just like the tax paying members of society and endure the sacrifices of dealing with the current pandemic? Who exactly is "more equal" in this current situation?

Up thread we were touching on the EBT crowd being out the first two weeks of the month in most areas.

My guess is the EBT/WIC crowd (or their boyfriends) are much more likely to rob/mug/shoot up the place if they are ever short of stuff than people with jobs, and TPTB are perfectly aware of it.
 

20Gauge

TB Fanatic
Dollar General here had eggs for $1.25/doz 2 weeks ago. Today they were at $3.25/doz! No paper products at all. No bread. You can get most things in limited numbers and prices are skyrocketing .
Higher prices are an indicator of scarcity of goods. It also is a case of building in the price of the excess money the fed is pushing out..
 

20Gauge

TB Fanatic
Re Wallyworld's suppliers: A few decades ago I worked for a small manufacturing company that started supplying sewn products for Wallyworld. During the first year's negotiation the Wallyworld purchasing agent told us to give him our best price and we did (a low price making a very small amount because of the volume.)

The second year the Wallyworld purchasing agent told us to cut our prices by 5%. At this point half of what we produced was being sold to Wallyworld. We had to increase our production capabilities to handle the demand from Wallyworld.

Supplying Wallyworld eventually worked out to be a break even proposition, in other words we were just covering the costs to produce the product.

Another issue is once a year when Wallyworld would perform their annual physical inventory count, any old, unsold, or damaged product would just be boxed up as if it were garbage by Wallyworld locations and shipped back to us and a deduction would be made for the purchase price would be made on the next check to us.

Wallyworld never paid via terms of the agreement. Also, Wallyworld locations always claimed the shipments were short product no matter how many times we double or triple checked the items when shipping.

Who in their right mind would want to do business with Wallyworld
Reminds me of when we did business with them.... it was never ever pleasant....

Who remembers the pickle story with walmart.....?
 

IJT

Veteran Member
I took my wife to Walmart this AM, (Knoxville TN) we got there 10 minutes before the store opened at 7, around 25 people lined up with more slowly joining. They let people in until they reached a certain number, it appeared to be around 25 then they stopped until someone came out. One out, one in. My wife reported there was TP, one per, lots of eggs, some meat, canned veggies, tuna, chicken not a problem and they even had a selection of peanut butter. prices seemed to be the same, some cleaning products like Lysol spray were gone and of course no hand sanitizer. The store was very orderly, she couldn't find anyone to unlock the ammo case which still had a decent supply. I wanted her to get some extra 22s. We've found if you show up when a store opens they have inventory.
 

mzkitty

I give up.
Review this article (it's a little long) about food distribution. I had seen a similar article and saved it, but then it was just gone.

 

AlaskaSue

North to the Future
I so rarely go to Walmart...haven't been in quite a while and when nephew needed a ride there last week I stayed in the car. However, I did venture to a local small grocery yesterday, but was masked and gloved. They've put up Plexiglas in front of cashiers (which I was glad to see), they are constantly sanitizing, and everyone is keeping their distance. But still small-town chit-chat behind our masks. Not really a whole lot of things missing, but all the things I wanted were gone. I'm okay, I just like to keep up if I can. Took a shower (I read from a Dr that virus can hold on hair and I have a LOT of long hair) and cleaned up at home. I really don't want to go out anymore but will if I can pick up things for friends and family on Kodiak Island - they don't have ferry service right now, and flights from the two airlines are down to only one per day - the other shut down. Thankfully the ships are still coming in but haven't heard how well-supplied they are.

I just keep thinking: what a different world in which we live...just back at Superbowl it was pretty much normal as could be. Now, though....I can't tell you how happy I am for prepping for something like this, and for all the wisdom I've gleaned from you folks over the years. Bless you ~
 

20Gauge

TB Fanatic
Since the wife works at Walmart, she has learned that if she needs anything these days, (mostly topping off), to get them like the soviets did. Before the public is allowing in or at first break and stash it in the car.
 
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