Yahoo Autos Grocery store shelves bare? These products may be hard to find amid supply chain disruptions
Correction: A customs dispute at the U.S.-Canada border involving shippers and U.S. Customs and Border Protection is preventing the transportation of fish used in fish sticks and sandwiches.
Can't find what you need at the store again? You're not alone.
As the world reaches the two-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, more items are becoming scarce because of a supply chain shortage across the globe.
Supply chain concerns are a result of “record-level congestion at the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach that has spread to the East Coast, the widespread power outages across China, shortages of truck drivers and service workers, and COVID-19-fueled infections and restrictions,” Tinglong Dai, a business professor at Johns Hopkins University, told USA TODAY in an email.
Shipping prices have skyrocketed, and demand for items has outpaced supplies.
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Before making a grocery list, here is a list of items you might not find:
Ben & Jerry flavors
This frozen treat is usually the perfect dessert, but in an email on Sept. 14, Ben & Jerry's parent company, Unilever, cited labor shortages as the reason for reducing the amount of flavors produced. The company said it will focus on producing its most popular flavors. Phish Food lovers, you have nothing to worry about.
Carbonated drinks
Fertilizer plants, which lead to the production of carbon dioxide, had to reduce their output because of rising costs, causing shortages in food and other products, Per Hong, senior partner at consulting firm Kearney, told CNBC. “We almost certainly will be faced with a global shortage of CO2 that is used widely. CO2 is used extensively in the food value chain from inside packaged food to keep it fresher longer, for dry ice to keep frozen food cold during delivery, to giving carbonated beverages their bubbles,” he said.
Chicken
People have substituted fast food for home-cooked comfort meals, causing chicken to become scarce. In May, suppliers announced a shortage of chicken, which limited some restaurants' menu items and increased the price in stores.
Coffee
Brazil is a supplier of most of the world's coffee, but the country has been experiencing a drought that slowed production and transportation of coffee beans.
Diapers
Households with small children should be aware that diaper prices have increased because of increases in prices of raw materials, shipping delays and container shortages, according to Business Insider. Diaper manufacturers Proctor & Gamble (Pampers and Luvs) and Kimberly-Clark (Huggies) announced price increases in early April.
