Is toilet paper affected by port strike? What Arizona shoppers must know before panic buying

As the dockworker strike heads into its third day, fears of shortages have led some shoppers to start stockpiling goods. Haunted by the memory of the early months of the pandemic, when stores ran out of basic household necessities, panic buyers have targeted one particular product: toilet paper.

Stockpiling toilet paper has even become a political issue, as everyday people and politicians turn to social media to both encourage and discourage against stockpiling toilet paper. U.S. Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene, for example, posted on X: "Toilet paper is always the first to go...We shouldn't be dependent on foreign countries for all of our needs!"

Amidst the storm of toilet paper fears, here's how the port strike affects the supply in Arizona.

Is toilet paper affected by the port strike?

The current strike has shut down 14 ports on the East and Gulf Coast where goods from Europe, Asia and Africa enter the United States. Experts say 90% of the toilet paper Americans use is manufactured in the U.S., meaning that the port strike will have a negligible impact on its supply.

Additionally, retailers have been aware of the potential of a strike for months, so they've stocked up on products, said Dale Rogers, the ON Semiconductor Professor of Business at the Supply Chain Management department at Arizona State University.

What to stock up on: These products will be most affected by port strike

Why is toilet paper running out?

With negligible effects from the port strike, any shortages people are seeing in stores now were because of panic buying.

Rogers also warned against comparing the dockworker strike to supply chain challenges experienced during the pandemic, when paper mills had to shift production to keep up with a change in demand as people stayed home.

"The biggest problem with toilet paper during the pandemic was the shift from businesses not buying it, which is typically a different type of toilet paper than what you buy for your home," Rogers said.

If the strike lasts longer than a week or two, some researchers have raised the possibility of a lack of the raw materials used to make toilet paper. Although toilet paper is made from Eucalyptus pulp imported from Brazil, shifting imports of the pulp to West Coast ports or finding another source would not be very difficult, Rogers said.

Where is most toilet paper manufactured?

Over 80% of toilet paper in the U.S. is made by three companies: Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark and Georgia-Pacific, according to the Center for Land Use Interpretation.

Procter & Gamble is the company behind Charmin, the most popular toilet paper brand in the U.S.

As of 2021, there are 19 major toilet paper factories across the country. The closest paper mills to Arizona are in:

• Bear River City, Utah: A Procter & Gamble plant produces Charmin toilet paper and Bounty paper towels.
• Fullerton, California : A Kimberly-Clark plant makes Scott toilet paper.

Reach the reporter at reia.li@gannett.com . Follow @Reialirui on X, formerly Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Is toilet paper affected by port strike? What Arizona shoppers must know before panic buying