Shortages?

[Darren]

Given the economic situation I'm wondering if we'll start seeing empty shelves in the future. I already know about ammo and some tire sizes. Has anyone noticed anything else in short supply?

[rambler]

I wonder about fertilizer in mid spring. I think we might see some spot shortages of fertilizer.

--->Paul

[fixer1958]

Money and a positive attitude.

[Ramblin Wreck]

Buckshot is the only thing I've found a shortage of around here. You can get slugs or smaller shot loads easily, but it took me several stops to find buckshot.

[firegirl969]

All ammo here is in short supply. Man in Walmart the other day said they put out ammo everymorning at 8 am and it is gone by noon. Some groceries on the shelf are in short supply, Harvey's mgr. said he has ordered some items for 3 weeks and they are still on backorder. I have rainchecks for these loss leaders, and they can't get them in.

[TomK]

Trains - I hear they have all gone to Washington by mistake. Some guy offer our wonderful leaders all they wanted and by mistake they thought the guy said brains and they all said gives us all you got....

[Old Vet]

Shortages are a local thing. You may be Short of things that are in abundant else where. All Military ammo is gone from the scene like .223 308 and 9 MM but you can have as much of other ammo that you can pay for. What is happing is it becomes to expensive to truck it that they are looking at getting a whole truck load in an area to make it a good buy. How many truck loads of tooth picks can your town handle? That is a over simplification of things but you get my drift.

[Darren]

I agree that some shortages may be a local thing providing there are several sources of supply. I saw a notice in Walmart that said they were having problems with a dog food supplier. Maybe that supplier didn't pay the Chinese for the last load of wheat gluten. Tractor Supply has a shelf full.

With the factory closing around the country, I expect sooner or later some things will get harder to find. If empty shelves show up it could also mean that the store isn't restocking for a reason other than supply. Quality Farm and Fleet limped along for some time with increasingly bare shelves before they went bankrupt.

[TEXKAT]

I haven't seen any shortages 'round here...southwest Texas....but like mentioned before, "positive attitude and money".

[mezzogirl]

I haven't noticed any shortages around Atlanta, but if Captain Crunch Peanut butter ball cereal runs low, I will start panicking.

[whiterock]

In a Walmart today, lots of empty space on the ammo shelves, plenty of .22 and shotgun. three boxes of .40, two of .44 mag.

went to gun store, fellow noted that prices on all firearms were up, said they were gettin hard to find.

[Kevingr]

This type of question comes up alot. Personally I've never had a problem getting anything, even when gas was high last summer. I buy all my ammo at Cabella's or Gander Mountian, never out of what I needed, and I stock up monthly on factory loads as well as reloading supplies. I shop at Walmart, Sams Club and COSTCO, never been short on anything I needed. I shop locally at Coborns grocery, and they've always had what I needed. I've replaced tires on 3 vehicles this past year and one trailer, had what I needed in stock. I rebuilt 1 carburator (remember what those are?lol) on an old 1983 Ford and that kit was even in stock!

I don't get these posts. Do all the supplies go where people are still buying?

[SnakeRiver]

Reloading powder, bullets and primers

[txtruelady]

Yep our Walmart was out of ammo and dog food

[Old Vet]

I went today and found out that our local farm store was out of Gloves and tire chains. Went next door and ask them if they had gloves and tire chains and they had a lot of them . I asked the manger of the farm store why they were out and he said he didn't order them on time but he would have some next week.

[ovsfarm]

I have noticed some things not being stocked, but I am unsure whether this is something new or whether I am just paying more attention to it these days. I have also heard that various products are in short supply due to the removal of the product runs that contained the contaminated Chinese ingredients. Dog food, for example. They had to pull lots off the shelf and then wait for uncontaminated ingredients to become available. Apparently there was plenty of uncontaminated product available after all. There's not really a shortage, just a glitch in the manufacturing line.

I also understand that some retailers may be having trouble with their lines of credit that they use to purchase stock. As the bankers have decided to close the barn doors a day late and after the damage was done, now even reliable business people are having difficulty working with their new rules. So again, perhaps not a shortage as in lack of supply but a glitch in the transfer of goods and credit.

However, I do believe that although we haven't experienced it much yet, there will in the future be some actual cases of shortages.

[poorboy]

NO spinach at Aldi's in the settlement fer two weeks now,Wally world had some a buck per small can..

[Old Vet]

Originally Posted by poorboy

NO spinach at Aldi's in the settlement fer two weeks now,Wally world had some a buck per small can..

I guess Popeye will shop at Wallyworld.

[poorboy]

Originally Posted by Old Vet

I guess Popeye will shop at Wallyworld.

I stills has me spinach stash, an when that runs out I has me canned poke salet from last season, and the fresh will soon be here for the pickin..

[clovis]

I have been wondering if we will see 'spot' shortages with some products in some places.

IMO, so many businesses rely strongly on credit to make purchases. This is not always a bad thing, but too many businesses rely on credit to ease their cash flow. I am not too keen on the big businesses that built their entire empire on credit. Without credit, or the cash, I can see some retailers not stocking shelves on slower selling items, or on items that are not deemed neccessary.

As well, if you are a supplier or wholesaler, and sales have slowed, are you going to keep pushing products out, with no buyers? It often takes more resourses in capital than what it is worth, and if sales are slow...why bother?

Let's say you own a sawmill. For years, you have stocked Kentucky coffee lumber, even though it is a poor seller overall. You have carried it as an 'extra' to please one or two customers, or to help fill the lumber shed. Your minimum order for the Kentucky coffee logs might be a full semi-load, and cost thousands of dollars. There is a good chance you will not restock this item when you run out, unless it becomes a really good seller. This means that there might be a spot shortage in one area for a while, but not a real true shortage nationwide.

Even in my own small business, I have opted to keep a low inventory of a few items. Some of these are poor sellers, even though they are worth stocking. I just completed another project that I am hoping to sell, and am thinking long and hard about the $500-600 that I will spend to put it on the shelf. I can spend the money for the product, but will anyone buy it?

Clove