Don't stock up on toilet paper. Panic-buying during port strikes is counterproductive, says supply chain expert

Last updated: 6:45 p.m.

The Associated Press reported late Thursday that the International Longshoremen's Association, the union representing 45,000 U.S. dockworkers, has agreed to suspend its strike until Jan. 15 to make time to negotiate a new contract.

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PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Stores in the Philadelphia suburbs are reporting a sharp uptick in toilet paper and paper towel sales, suggesting that some people have been panic-buying in response to the dockworkers’ strike affecting ports from Texas to Maine. Experts say that’s not only unnecessary, it could also make things worse down the road.

“Those items are not coming through these ports,” said Dr. Subodha Kumar of Temple’s Fox School of Business.

Kumar says he gets it — memories of COVID-era shortages are making people panic. So, if shoppers see empty shelves in the paper product aisle, it’s not because of the worker’s strike.

Items that were in short supply during the pandemic — baby formula, cleaning products, lumber and so forth — are largely manufactured in the U.S. and are sent to stores by truck or rail. They don’t arrive by ship. So not only are they not affected by a port strike, but panic-buying them causes huge headaches for retailers.

“All these supply chains are designed for certain demand. If people start buying more, it messes up the supply chain for several weeks or several months, because now people have excess of it so they will buy less than usual,” Kumar said.

“Anything that consumers are doing right now will hurt them, because, if they mess up the supply chain, that may increase the cost.”

Kumar says a months-long strike would affect some goods — largely fresh fruit, which neither stores nor consumers can store for long. Kumar notes that retailers were able to plan for the strike and stock up on shelf-stable items, such as auto parts.