Demand for toiletries stresses supply chain, essential workers
ORLANDO, Fla. - Some store shelves across Central Florida are looking bare when it comes to those toiletry necessities.
Stores like Publix, Walmart and Costco are seeing empty shelves once again. Some are implementing limits on paper towels and toilet paper.
With COVID numbers on the rise, experts said the demand for products also goes up.
Geoff Freeman, President and CEO of the Consumer Brands Association, said he doesn’t expect things to be as bad as the Spring.
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“Unlike March and April the industry has been through this before and the industry has made the adjustments it needs to make,” Freeman said.
He said contributing to the restocking problem is the stress on the supply chain such as trucks and raw materials.
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“The other problem and it’s definitely growing – is access to the manpower,” Freeman said. “Right now with the contact tracing, with the virus being spread so widely across the country, we’re seeing more callouts, more absenteeism than we saw in the Spring and we’re having to work around that – it’s challenging.”
So for now, stores are encouraging customers to buy only what they need while our country’s essential workers focus on producing and delivering the essentials.