There are some reports of panic buying in the Hampton Roads area the day U.S. dockworkers went on strike, which shut down ports on the East and Gulf coasts.
WAVY viewers have sent photos of long lines at a BJ’s Wholesale Club in Hampton, where some items like toilet paper were in shorter supply, and of a Walmart in Yorktown, where paper towels, water and other items were in low supply.
“I didn’t expect that everything was sold out — disinfectant sprays, almost like a little COVID,” said Hampton Roads resident Elizabeth Hollis.
It’s important to point out that while the strike is expected to have significant effects on the global supply chain, things like toilet paper and paper towels are mostly produced in the U.S., so supplies of those shouldn’t be impacted as much as imported products such as electronics and car and machinery parts.
“We’re looking to buy a car and now I’m wondering, are the prices going to be higher now that the inventory is going to be low, do we wait it out,” said Hampton Roads resident Deborah Franklin.
Experts say the grocery products that will impacted the most include things like bananas and tropical fruit (about 75% of bananas in the U.S. enter through East Coast and Gulf Coast ports), and imported alcohol like beer and wine from Europe, and Caribbean spirits like rum.
Overall, though, experts warn that while you might still be able to find items, companies will likely pass on the added costs associated with the snarled supply chain to consumers.
George Berry, a local trucker in Hampton Roads who heads the For Truckers by Truckers advocacy group, told WAVY Tuesday morning that consumers should start preparing for some things to be in shorter supply.
