2021 Supply Disruptions

[hbelkins]

How expensive chlorine has gotten, and how my pool has turned into "the money pit". My pool maintenance person advised me at the end of January to have a backup supply of chlorine tablets, pool shock, and muriatic acid, as his normal avenues may not have a steady supply. So, I went off to Amazon and order a 25 pound tub of chlorine tablets. At the time of order (late January), the tub was $180. As of this writing, $289. This was for something that, prior to May, 2021, was just $95 which is just slightly below the price of a 10 pound tub of 3 inch chlorine tablets nowadays ($100). You can blame Hurricane Laura for wiping out a major chlorine manufacturer in Louisiana in 2020, which won't be online until later on this year.

My pool owner friends were complaining about maintenance chemical costs last year, and a whole lot of places that sell the chemicals were putting on quantity limits and warning about shortages and skyrocketing prices.

[ZLoth]

How expensive chlorine has gotten, and how my pool has turned into "the money pit". My pool maintenance person advised me at the end of January to have a backup supply of chlorine tablets, pool shock, and muriatic acid, as his normal avenues may not have a steady supply. So, I went off to Amazon and order a 25 pound tub of chlorine tablets. At the time of order (late January), the tub was $180. As of this writing, $289. This was for something that, prior to May, 2021, was just $95 which is just slightly below the price of a 10 pound tub of 3 inch chlorine tablets nowadays ($100). You can blame Hurricane Laura for wiping out a major chlorine manufacturer in Louisiana in 2020, which won't be online until later on this year.

My pool owner friends were complaining about maintenance chemical costs last year, and a whole lot of places that sell the chemicals were putting on quantity limits and warning about shortages and skyrocketing prices.

As far as I can determine, the price is currently higher than it was last year.

Oh, and it's only MARCH.

[HighwayStar]

I'm have to order a new over-the-range microwave. Thanks to a mis-entry of the cooking time by a member of my home (40 minutes instead of 4 minutes), a frozen meal was completely carbonized and stank up the house. While the microwave still works, and despite the best effort at cleaning, I can't get rid of the burnt smell. The microwave is around 20 years old, and I've been wanting a new microwave. Off to Costco online I go, partially because I had some gift cards that I kept on standby for exactly this type of situation.

The earliest possible delivery date? April 14th for the order placed last Saturday.

Lucky me had warranty on our 3 year old microwave. We were cooking something and a burnt plastic smell kept reeking the house! And the solution was to get rid of it? I don't think so! We went online and filed a warranty claim, and the service guy was VERY nice! He couldn't find the problem, but after digging and digging, it was the power supply! It wouldn't even come off! So they had to order the part and came back 24 hours later and had it all done within a hour! Also we had couches delivered while this was going on! Here's the funny thing too, THIS WAS PERFORMED DURING CORONAVIRUS!

The manufacturing date code on the current microwave is April, 2005, which makes my old microwave almost 17 years old. At what point do you put consider repairing verses replacing?

Also, the delivery date is now March 11th in the afternoon. Too bad I haven't even found someone to put in a roof or side vent per my mother's request.

I think I put microwaves in the replace category most of the time, often the fault is not user serviceable in any reasonable fashion and they are pretty cheap to replace.

[Scott5114]

How expensive chlorine has gotten, and how my pool has turned into "the money pit". My pool maintenance person advised me at the end of January to have a backup supply of chlorine tablets, pool shock, and muriatic acid, as his normal avenues may not have a steady supply. So, I went off to Amazon and order a 25 pound tub of chlorine tablets. At the time of order (late January), the tub was $180. As of this writing, $289. This was for something that, prior to May, 2021, was just $95 which is just slightly below the price of a 10 pound tub of 3 inch chlorine tablets nowadays ($100). You can blame Hurricane Laura for wiping out a major chlorine manufacturer in Louisiana in 2020, which won't be online until later on this year.

I don't know how big your pool is, so I don't know the price, but $289 was about how much the saltwater system for my pool was. Salt is way cheaper than pure chlorine. The saltwater system breaks the bonds in the NaCl molecules to produce Na and Cl, and when the chlorine degrades, it just reforms into NaCl and runs back through the system to get broken down again. You basically only have to add more salt when it rains enough to dilute the salt content in the pool.

i dont have a pool, so i dont have to worry. 

If something doesn't apply to you, then maybe just don't post? What you just did is the equivalent of going into a fast-food restaurant and when they call out "Order for Kent", going up to the counter and loudly announcing "I'm not Kent!" Well, no shit, that order isn't for you!

[ZLoth]

From NBC-DFW:

2-Story Homes Discontinued in New North Texas Community Over "˜Lumber Issues'
FULL ARTICLE HERE (with autoplaying video)

Just as an update:

• After a spike in mid-March where the price of a 25 pound container of 3" chlorine tablets hit $290, the price has since dropped to $194.
• The microwave that I ordered arrived in mid-March, and was installed at the end of March. There was some additional work done to install a roof vent. Costco now estimates a 1-3 week for delivery, but the price has gone up $40.

[ozarkman417]

How expensive chlorine has gotten, and how my pool has turned into "the money pit". My pool maintenance person advised me at the end of January to have a backup supply of chlorine tablets, pool shock, and muriatic acid, as his normal avenues may not have a steady supply. So, I went off to Amazon and order a 25 pound tub of chlorine tablets. At the time of order (late January), the tub was $180. As of this writing, $289. This was for something that, prior to May, 2021, was just $95 which is just slightly below the price of a 10 pound tub of 3 inch chlorine tablets nowadays ($100). You can blame Hurricane Laura for wiping out a major chlorine manufacturer in Louisiana in 2020, which won't be online until later on this year.

i dont have a pool, so i dont have to worry. 

While I may not have a pool, I do have a hot tub. It still needs chemical treatment such as shock and chlorine, but on a far smaller scale because the tub's volume is only about 8'x8'x3'. I bought a few 5lb containers of chlorine off of Amazon about a year ago (then it was about 40 bucks for 5 lbs, now it's 75). Because hot tubs don't require a ton of chlorine compared to their larger pool counterparts, I still have a bit left over from this past 'hot tub season' (Oct. through April, because who wants to be in a hot tub when its already hot outside). I'll keep an eye on the prices for a chance to restock at a decent rate, as I'm not in a rush to do so.

[SSOWorld]

I've noticed a shortage of wet pet food across multiple stores in my county over the past few days.

Same here.

Still present - fancy feast is hard to come by.

[HighwayStar]

I've noticed a shortage of wet pet food across multiple stores in my county over the past few days.

Same here.

Still present - fancy feast is hard to come by.

I just got a mental image of a seedy looking guy in a trench coat hawking fancy feast on a street corner someplace. 
What times we live in.

[kphoger]

And I had a mental image of |SSOWorld| being a middle-aged, basement-dwelling bachelor who buys Fancy Feast even though he doesn't actually have a cat.

[snowc]

I've noticed a shortage of wet pet food across multiple stores in my county over the past few days.

Same here.

Still present - fancy feast is hard to come by.

And we have NO fancy feast in Walmart! 

[ZLoth]

From Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART):

DART Bus Service Frequency Changes Begin June 13

Beginning June 13, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) will implement temporary service frequency adjustments on 31 of its 97 bus routes due to the ongoing nationwide shortage of bus operators. For more information about these changes, please visit dart.org/servicechange.

To restore service reliability and dependability for all of our riders, DART is implementing a five-minute temporary reduction in frequency on most routes currently operating every 15 minutes. Some routes with 20-minute midday and early evening service will change to 30-minute service. Light rail service, as well as service on the Trinity Railway Express (TRE) and the Dallas Streetcar, will remain the same.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

[roadman65]

Racetrac has no stuffed pizza in their stores, but they have warehouses full of them.

[Rothman]

Racetrac has no stuffed pizza in their stores, but they have warehouses full of them.

Says who?

[JayhawkCO]

Just posting to get the thread name changed to 2022. We're almost halfway to 2023.

Also, formula being out sucks. Good thing I stocked up before the shortage. Kiddo is starting solid foods soon, so hopefully that'll get us through.

[7/8]

Just posting to get the thread name changed to 2022. We're almost halfway to 2023.

Also, formula being out sucks. Good thing I stocked up before the shortage. Kiddo is starting solid foods soon, so hopefully that'll get us through.

Here's an interesting article discussing issues relating to the formula shortage including WIC contract monopolies and import restrictions. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-20/baby-formula-shortage-shows-risk-of-us-industry-concentration

[formulanone]

Just posting to get the thread name changed to 2022. We're almost halfway to 2023.

Also, formula being out sucks. Good thing I stocked up before the shortage. Kiddo is starting solid foods soon, so hopefully that'll get us through.

Long ago, my daughter needed the Enfamil Alimentum which was tough enough to find (and pay for) 15 years ago. At $28-30 per can, most stores wouldn't keep much in the way of backstock, and some wouldn't carry it due to higher levels of theft, since it cost twice as much. There were no online deals for it, usually it was even more expensive to order it. I can only imagine the hysteria and difficulty now.

Our grocery bill basically cut in half once the doctor said she could be off of it when she turned one, so we celebrated with champagne (well, for two of us).

[ZLoth]

From NBC DFW:

We Could See Less Mustard on Shelves This Summer Due to Seed Shortage
First, it was Sriracha. Now the climate crisis is coming for your summer condiment go-to

Bleak seed harvests from 2021 have sprouted into paltry mustard supplies in France. According to The Guardian, United States grocery shelves might be next.

With Canada being the world's number one producer of mustard seeds, severe hot weather in the country's southern region earlier this year is being cited as a larger part of the problem. According to AG Canada, mustard plants that would typically produce eight to 10 seeds in a pod, eked out a mere four to six seeds this year. Poor harvests brought on by bad climate in France have only compounded the issue of the reserve.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

From CNN:

A tampon shortage is the latest nightmare for women

Supply chain problems and inflation have hit virtually all consumer goods, but women who menstruate are now facing an added strain as a shortage of period products hits the United States.

Top retailers and manufacturers acknowledged the shortages this week, confirming complaints that have been circulating on social media for months. The issue garnered national attention this week after an article in Time called the dearth of tampons and pads the shortage "no one is talking about."

FULL ARTICLE HERE

[kphoger]

From CNN:

A tampon shortage is the latest nightmare for women

Supply chain problems and inflation have hit virtually all consumer goods, but women who menstruate are now facing an added strain as a shortage of period products hits the United States.

Top retailers and manufacturers acknowledged the shortages this week, confirming complaints that have been circulating on social media for months. The issue garnered national attention this week after an article in Time called the dearth of tampons and pads the shortage "no one is talking about."

FULL ARTICLE HERE

Holy cow.  I have an acquaintance who, back before she had a hysterectomy in her 20s, had a condition that caused her to bleed so much she went through a package of tampons per day.  Can you imagine what it would be like to have that condition and not be able to buy them?

[LM117]

From CNN:

A tampon shortage is the latest nightmare for women

Supply chain problems and inflation have hit virtually all consumer goods, but women who menstruate are now facing an added strain as a shortage of period products hits the United States.

Top retailers and manufacturers acknowledged the shortages this week, confirming complaints that have been circulating on social media for months. The issue garnered national attention this week after an article in Time called the dearth of tampons and pads the shortage "no one is talking about."

FULL ARTICLE HERE

Oof. Glad I'm a dude!

[Duke87]

Still plenty of pads in stores at least. So the same companies are having no trouble producing those, though this makes sense if it's supply of cotton that's the underlying issue.

[hbelkins]

Peanut butter, from what I'm hearing, is getting harder to find. Not just Jif, but other brands as well.

[Dirt Roads]

Peanut butter, from what I'm hearing, is getting harder to find. Not just Jif, but other brands as well.

Wow!  Just a few months ago, Harris Teeter was selling their small jars of peanut butter for $1.25 each.  Hadn't seen that for 15 years or so.

[Takumi]

Peanut butter, from what I'm hearing, is getting harder to find. Not just Jif, but other brands as well.

Makes sense. When one brand has a major recall, people compensate by buying other brands.

[SSOWorld]

And I had a mental image of |SSOWorld| being a middle-aged, basement-dwelling bachelor who buys Fancy Feast even though he doesn't actually have a cat.

no basement dwelling in my house unless watching a movie on the big screen - and a cat is in charge of the house.

[Scott5114]

Peanut butter, from what I'm hearing, is getting harder to find. Not just Jif, but other brands as well.

My grocery store has a self-service machine full of shelled peanuts. When you press the button it grinds them into peanut butter, which you then pay for by weight. It's "not as good" as the kind you get in jars, since the peanut oil tends to separate and you have to stir it back in. But it will at least be available as long as shelled peanuts are.

As it is, the store doesn't have any Jif, but it has filled all that shelf space with Skippy and Peter Pan, so it's really not an issue unless you just have to have Jif.