Port strike 2024 triggers toilet paper ‘panic buying’ at Costco locations

NEW YORK – UPDATE: According to the Associated Press, a deal to suspend the strike until January 15 has been reached. 

Videos posted online claim that toilet paper is sold out at Costco stores in several states – including New Jersey – with one worker saying their stock was cleared one hour after opening.

ILA STRIKE 2024 UPDATE TODAY: PANIC BUYING? l MAP l IMPACTS

No, we aren’t talking about grocery trips during the 2020 pandemic – these are reportedly the scenes at super stores and grocery stores this week.

Customers are comparing the frenzy to the toilet paper panic buying that took over the US during the peak of the pandemic.

The rush to buy is in response to thousands of dockworkers going on strike Tuesday, shutting down 36 ports along the East and Gulf coasts.

Experts say the shutdown could cause a hike in prices and even a shortage of some goods. But will toilet paper be affected?

The majority of toilet paper used in the United States is made in the US, with only minor imports from Canada and Mexico, according to Scott Brand.

“The great toilet paper 2.0 shortage has started at Costco,” one TikTok user said.

While any port can handle any type of goods, some ports specialize in handling goods for a particular industry. 

Those affected by the shutdown include:

• Baltimore and Brunswick, Georgia (the top two busiest auto ports)
• Philadelphia, which gives priority to fruits and vegetables
• New Orleans, which handles coffee, mainly from South America and Southeast Asia, various chemicals from Mexico and North Europe, and wood products such as plywood from Asia and South America.

Other major ports affected include:

• Boston
• New York/New Jersey
• Norfolk, Virginia
• Wilmington, North Carolina
• Charleston, South Carolina
• Savannah, Georgia
• Tampa, Florida
• Mobile, Alabama
• Houston

Jennifer Lee, of our sister station FOX 29 Philadelphia, spoke with Dr. Subodha Kumar – a professor at the FOX School of Business at Temple University – who says the port strikes won’t have much of a short-term impact on consumers, and absolutely none on the supply of toilet paper.

“Almost all of the toilet paper that is sold in the U.S. is made within the country. The items are not imported from these ports,” Dr. Kumar said. “Customers have no reason to be panicked. We are not getting out of toilet paper at all because of this strike. They are two unrelated events.”

Dr. Kumar says we may start noticing empty fruit and vegetable shelves or higher prices in a week or two and if the port strikes persist, auto supplies and cars in four to five weeks. She says in the end, panic buying may disrupt the supply chain more.

“It’s a knee-jerk reaction and unwarranted reaction because most of the items the retailers were very prepared for it and they had planned for it in advance,” Dr. Kumar said.

Ryan Sunderlin, a buyer at Coosemans Philadelphia, says the unknown of how long the strike will be is already causing costs to skyrocket on imported items.

“You’re seeing anywhere from a 20 to 200% increase in pricing due to the scarcity, knowing you won’t be able to get any in who knows how long,” Sunderlin said.

That means the cost will then fall on the consumer. 

“It’s going to increase the price of food, fruits and vegetables, anything that is on ship that can’t be loaded in a timely manner,” said Mark Levin, the CEO of M. Levin & Company Inc. 

If drawn out, the strike would force businesses to pay shippers for delays and cause some goods to arrive late for peak holiday shopping season – potentially impacting delivery of anything from toys or artificial Christmas trees, to cars, plywood, coffee, fruit and vegetables. 

In addition, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the affected ports handled 75% of the country’s banana imports.

How will a strike affect holiday shopping?

Chris Butler, CEO of National Tree Company in New Jersey, tells the AP that if a strike lasts only a few days, there would still be time to unload Christmas trees, transport them to warehouses, and prepare them for customers this season.

Ships carrying the trees were en route to New York but wouldn’t arrive before Tuesday. If the strike continues, Butler warned that most trees would have to be stored until next Christmas season.

If a strike keeps ports closed until November, about 150,000 Christmas trees could miss the peak shopping season, costing National Tree Company and others. In the worst case, these costs could drive inflation and strain the U.S. economy.

A prolonged strike would require companies to compensate shippers for delays, potentially causing goods to arrive late for the peak holiday shopping season.

Port strike 2024 update: What are the issues?

The International Longshoremen’s Association is demanding significantly higher wages and a total ban on the automation of cranes, gates and container-moving trucks that are used in the loading or unloading of freight at 36 U.S. ports. Those ports handle roughly half of the nations’ cargo from ships.

The contract between the ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents the ports, expired Tuesday. Some progress was reported in talks late Monday, but the union went on strike anyway.

The union’s opening offer was for a 77% pay raise over the six-year life of the contract, with President Harold Daggett saying it’s necessary to make up for inflation and years of small raises. ILA members make a base salary of about $81,000 per year, but some can pull in over $200,000 annually with large amounts of overtime.

Monday evening, the alliance said it had increased its offer to 50% raises over six years, and it pledged to keep limits on automation in place from the old contract. The alliance also said its offer tripled employer contributions to retirement plans and strengthened health care options.

How long will the port strike last?

Just how long the strike lasts depends on how severely the supply chain could be affected. 

FOX 29 Philadelphia helped contribute to this report.