The company recently announced “a 25% increase in production, totaling 12 billion ketchup packets…a year.” Heinz, the biggest ketchup producer in the country, is at the epicenter of the problem and taking steps to address it. So those traditional restaurants jumped into direct competition with fast food places, which had also shut down their dining rooms and upped their orders for ketchup packets.ĭemand and prices went up, and supply went down. Suddenly, restaurants coast to coast were packing up entrees, side dishes and cold beverages for a steady string of people working from home swirling past in their cars. How did this happen? It started with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discouraging traditional, dine-in service at restaurants and suggesting more pandemic-friendly options like delivery and takeout instead. Shortages of ketchup - specifically in packets that often come with your to-go order - started popping up around the country last summer, and the plot has thickened. Heinz is increasing ketchup packet production by 25%. The Friday ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline - one of the nation’s largest and most critical sources of fuel delivery - is also sparking fears of a looming price spike. The national average could surpass $3 a gallon this summer, and even get higher if any hurricanes hit the Gulf Coast or if there are any other disruptions to supply, such as a refinery fire. The national average price of regular gas already stands at an average of $2.94 a gallon, up more than 60% from a year ago when prices and demand were bottoming out. Gas prices, which typically rise at the start of the summer as seasonal regulations take effect - requiring the more expensive “summer blend” of gasoline needed to combat smog - are also rising.
Supply chain issues 2021 driver#
“We’ve been dealing with a driver shortage for a while, but the pandemic took that issue and metastasized it,” said Ryan Streblow, the executive vice president of the NTTC.
Supply chain issues 2021 drivers#
Rather, it’s the tanker truck drivers needed to deliver the gas to stations who are in short supply, and that could lead to challenges at the pump come Memorial Day.īetween 20% to 25% of tank trucks in the fleet are parked heading into this summer due to a paucity of qualified drivers, according to the National Tank Truck Carriers, the industry’s trade group. It’s not that there’s a looming shortage of crude oil or gasoline. Millions of people stuck at home for more than a year are expected to hit the road for much-needed post-pandemic vacations this summer. With the bulk of chip production concentrated in a handful of suppliers, analysts warn that the crunch is likely to last through 2021. The shortage is going from bad to worse, spreading from cars to consumer electronics. Car makers cut back orders for chips while tech companies, whose products were boosted by lockdown living, snapped up as many as they could. The first is the pandemic, which plunged the global economy into recession last year, upending supply chains and changing consumer shopping patterns. Several factors are driving the crunch, which was initially concentrated in the auto industry. In the market for a new car, smartphone or washing machine this year? A global shortage of computer chips could mean you have to wait a while - and pay more.Ī growing number of manufacturers around the world are having trouble securing supplies of semiconductors, delaying the production and delivery of goods and threatening to push up the prices paid by consumers. “With regard to retail pricing, it is a fact that we are seeing increases across the industry,” said Michael Egeck, CEO of pool supplies company Leslie’s, during a February earnings conference call. What’s clear is that pool owners should consider stocking up sooner rather than later. “The extent of the chlorine shortage is still unknown,” said B&B Pool and Spa Center, a Chestnut Ridge, New York-based retailer, on its website.
A quick look at Amazon shows that a 50-pound bucket of 3-inch chlorine tablets from the In the Swim brand now costs as much as $169.99, about double the normal cost. As a result, prices for tabs have skyrocketed.
Summer is around the corner, but anyone looking forward to a refreshing dip in the pool to cool off may be in for a big “shock.” A chlorine shortage may make it more difficult for pool owners to buy the sanitizing tabs.Ĭhlorine supplies are running low due to a fire at a chemical plant in Louisiana last August that was damaged by Hurricane Laura.
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