What products are you having trouble finding, thanks to the pandemic?

[dgwhitham]

My local package store has been having issues getting the imported Riesling that I usually buy

 

[Mike Buckley]

I'm reviving this old thread to report that the eight, extra large boxes of Grape Nuts cereal that I bought in mid January have lasted until this week when it will run out. Considering the consistency of the cereal, it's no surprise to me that the cereal that is nearly a year old seems to be exactly the same as the cereal I ate in January. Some people in the thread were concerned that the old cereal might go bad.

Now that some people are experiencing difficulties obtaining products again, what is difficult for you to find these days? No need to mention Nikon Z9 cameras.

 

[drr1531]

We're remodeling our house and just ordered kitchen cabinets. Deliver is normally 6-8 weeks but we were told 20-24 weeks. Almost any kind or appliances are in short supply and must be ordered with long lead times. Same story for windows. We ordered some a while back that would normally be in stock on the West coast and available in 2-3 weeks and it's taking 12 weeks(hopefully). Lumber is about 3x the price of what it was pre-pandemic. We have rolling shortages of various grocery items, chicken most recently.

Much of the problem now isn't production constraints it's transportation. We have a good friend who is the CFO of one of the largest trucking companies in the southern USA and he says based on what they are experiencing things are going to get worse before they get better. Not really covid related issues. Just can't find truck drivers. Problem is worse due to new DOT enforcement that just went live. In the middle of the already tight labor market DOT put a new database on line to track drivers who fail DOT required drug testing. By regulation anyone who fails a test is not allowed to drive for a period of time(six months I think?). In the past they just cleaned up and went to another company because there was no method of tracking. Now their name goes into the national database and the "drying out" period is enforceable. If I'm remembering our conversation correctly our friend said 70,000 names went into the database in the first month it was on line.

 

[Commodorefirst]

We had our third freezer ordered for 10 months, arrived late last Spring. I notice the stocking depth on all shelves is not deep, and also, the width allocations on products has narrowed also, all signs of less merchandise on the shelves.

 

[Palouse]

Greek olive oil in i liter cans; Diamond Crystal kosher salt.

 

[Bart]

nothing really

 

[FredAzinger]

Electronic Parts (for work) -- seriously a pain with new shortages appearing weekly.
I've been quoted leadtime as long as 72 weeks on some parts and that's just impossible to plan.

Sure hope I can get a Z-9 in less than 72 weeks!

 

[rpracing]

Fruit punch Snapple is a pita to find around here.

 

[acnomad]

Has this already been mentioned?

Competent employees staffed at the right levels.

Wherever I look, retail businesses, whether they be shops or restaurants, seem to be either shorthanded or undertrained. Or both.

 

[Clix Pix]

No problems here.....but then again I don't have major needs when it comes to shopping for food or everyday goods, and right now I'm not in the market for items related to home remodeling..... Thankfully I bought a new car last year before inventory at car dealerships became an issue, as it apparently has now.

 

[Growltiger]

Here in the UK we have huge shortages of truck drivers (100,000 needed), nurses, midwives, doctors.
Hospitality sector is desperate for staff, some pubs and restaurants are only partly open due to lack of staff.
Farmers can't get enough seasonal workers to pick fruit, cabbages etc.
Abattoirs are struggling, farmers are having to kill pigs in some cases and it is forecast there may be shortages of turkeys.
But generally things are pretty good.

 

[Mike Buckley]

Huge shortage of truck drivers in America, too. One association reported that 18,000 more truck drivers are needed. That makes me wonder if there are 18,000 trucks sitting around being unused.

A few weeks ago I was in a rural restaurant that had closed its upstairs seating because of a wait staff and kitchen staff shortage. The proprietor explained that staff members that had been let go when the pandemic started simply weren't returning to that line of work or had decided not to return to any line of work.

 

[Hylander]

I'm reviving this old thread to report that the eight, extra large boxes of Grape Nuts cereal that I bought in mid January have lasted until this week when it will run out. Considering the consistency of the cereal, it's no surprise to me that the cereal that is nearly a year old seems to be exactly the same as the cereal I ate in January. Some people in the thread were concerned that the old cereal might go bad.

Now that some people are experiencing difficulties obtaining products again, what is difficult for you to find these days? No need to mention Nikon Z9 cameras.

Mike, Grape Nuts seems to have had a production issue around the beginning of the year. There were a couple of articles in the New York Times about this. I missed them too.

The links are probably behind a paywall.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/29/business/grape-nuts-shortage.html?searchResultPosition=5

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/12/us/grape-nuts-cereal-shortage.html?searchResultPosition=2

 

[Tim Robinson]

Ceaser individual serving dog food of almost any flavor. It’s the only thing either of my dogs will consistently eat and I usually have to hit four or five stores before I find enough to last a couple of days.

 

[rick_reno]

No long term problems in finding what we want, seen some items not available but waiting a week or two seems to remedy that. I have friends here who can’t find ammunition or reloading components, they’re constantly complaining about that. Apparently those things have been in short supply for quite awhile.

 

[Commodorefirst]

No long term problems in finding what we want, seen some items not available but waiting a week or two seems to remedy that. I have friends here who can’t find ammunition or reloading components, they’re constantly complaining about that. Apparently those things have been in short supply for quite awhile.

Reloading supplies going on two years, Ammo is available now, but much higher.

 

[bpdougd]

No long term problems in finding what we want, seen some items not available but waiting a week or two seems to remedy that. I have friends here who can’t find ammunition or reloading components, they’re constantly complaining about that. Apparently those things have been in short supply for quite awhile.

Reloading supplies going on two years, Ammo is available now, but much higher.

Between Remington going belly up, the pandemic (and post pandemic employee and supply chain issues mentioned above) and panic buying after the last national election, ammunition has been scarce. I had stocked up on 30-06 a few years back and that is the only reason my son and I had enough for this year's hunting trip.

 

[rick_reno]

I was at Costco earlier today, they had no Darigold Half & Half. First time I've seen that.

 

[gchappel]

Some bicycle equipment is impossible to find.
I tried to order a new gravel bike- 9-12months out.
I flatted a tire- 32mm tubeless. Only had 1 spare, so tried to order another one. From the shop, a tire was 9 months out. 9months for a tire???
I found one on line. It was 6weeks before anyone had another one. Must have unloaded a shipping crate, as all the on line shops got them at about the same time.
In photography- a couple of my papers are on backorder.
gary

 

[rick_reno]

^ Yep, my Salsa Cutthroat gravel bike needed a new chain and tires this summer. Luckily the local bike shop had a chain but no tires and couldn’t find any from their sources. I poked around online and found a couple. I snagged them fast and switched to riding my mt bike. Still haven’t installed the tires, now it can wait until spring.