Shortages?

No contributions coming in at the one I work at. First time we have had nothing to do.

granny64, do you think it might be b/c the charitable giving laws and deductions on income taxes are projected to change? Heard about that on the news...ldc

Chain stores get dollar value of inventory based on sales. In other words they get just enough to fill the shelves and no extra. It's all about profitability and yes the high volume stores get more inventory. Money cures all shortages.

This always relates to the city or country surviving. In reality the stuff is going to the place that sells the most the fastest. Also to the place where the truck can deliver more with fewer stops and traveling a shorter distance. Local feed store runs out of feed regularly. He has to place a minimum order which is really more then he can afford as it doesn't sell fast enough. The supplier keeps increasing the minimum order size making it harder for the small stores to stock anything.

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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost

No shortages here. Some stores have been reducing the number of products they carry and that makes shelves look "bare".

The local Super WalMart has been reducing the number of product lines it carries for the last 8+ months. It used to carry 4 brands of baking powder; now it carries 2 brands - one of them being the house brand. The number of cracker and cake mix brands have been cut in half as well and there are half as many different flavors being sold. WalMart has kept the brands that give them them the best prices, but in some products only the WalMart brand is available. Shelves that used to accommodate 16 flavors of cake mix, now have 8 flavors stocked in double or triple rows.

deb
in wi

I agree it's the JIT just in time principal biting us consumers. JIT is fine for making cars or houses where you get (if shipping is perfect) only 27 widgets the day before you need to add them to 27 cars but we can't be sure only 38 folks will be buying a certain kind of ammo at Walmart this morning.

Clovis,

I appreciated your post. It stated the business issues in a clear, concise, and easy to understand manner. Thanks, firegirl

I will tell you something that is short! The contents of the packages your are buying. A cereal box is the same height and width but not the depth. The peanut butter jars on some brands now have a big dimple in the bottom. Just this week the toothpaste tube appears to be the same but a closer look and it contains 20 percent less toothpaste. I have not looked to see if WM is adding more salt water to its meat. It appears that "value size" has taken on a new meaning. Instead of being a value for the customer it has shifted to the seller, often without the consumer realizing the shift. We all need to be astute shoppers.

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Agmantoo
If they can do it,
you know you can!

I hear you. Although knowing I don't really need it, ice cream packaging sizes is my gripe. Original size was 1/2 gal., and now it's packed in 1.75 and 1.5 gal. packages for the same price as the 1/2 gal. I will buy the 1/2 gal. or nothing anymore. Maybe in the long run that will be a good thing.

Nappy

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~~~~The best time to do something is between yesterday and tomorrow~~~~

Have you looked at the number of ounces in a gallon of Milk lately? Kemps for one isn't giving a full gallon anymore.

Haven't noticed any shortages of anything in the local stores, but the way the price of everything is goin' up, there's sure to be shortages and empty spots on my pantry shelves.....

Also consider as a supplier how far ahead would you let your customers get ahead on you considering the failure rate of retail businesses. You sell a store a large quantity payable in 30,60 or 90 days and they file bankruptcy on you. I'd say some suppliers are holding tight reins on many businesses.

__________________
"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost

I see no ammo shortage at my Walmart.

Prices and shortages are artificially created by the gun lobby to increase sales.

- small percentage may be due to the need for calibers used by the military. but near as I can tell, the Army is not buying Remington .223s. They contract out to companies who specifically make for the military. Russia has been providing a lot of ammo for NATO lately.

- Fear of tough times may cause people to buy some more. Need to hunt to survive, or protect my closet full of canned beans when the world comes to an end. Ya right.

- Fear spurred on by the gun lobby "They're takin away your guns tommorrow! They're gonna make it impossible to buy ammo tommorrow!" The gun and ammo manufacturers are laughing at all the sheeple stampeeding to buy their wares.

The rice shortage last year was similarly created artificially.

I travel in a four hundred mile radius and stop in many WMs, ect and walk to give my body a little exercise and i see no shortages of anything.

My son works at WM, sporting goods dept. selling ammo. They get a limited amount on their deliveries which varies from 1 a week to 1 every 3 weeks. Then customers tend to buy them out when they come in. Even 22 ammo comes in sporadically, especially the big boxes, and sells out in hours after putting on shelf. Mostly the problems are with the large economy size packages of popular calibers.

__________________
"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost