Recently I've looked for paper towels and was surprised to see empty shelves in our local Schnucks. My first thought was: have people begun hoarding them again, do they know something I don't?" Schnucks did have a few rolls but the rolls were as thin as a baseball bat and very cheap looking, off brands. There seemed to be plenty of toilet paper, so why the lack of paper towels.
I did find some at Walmart, but even that store only had a certain amount of packages and lots of empty shelf space. I use paper towels for many things, like cleaning kitchen counters, windows, even the first scrub of dinner pots.
This morning thanks to a story on CNN I learned what the deal is with the paper towel shortage. "Part of the reason for the shortage is people keep hoarding them. But the shortage could also have something to do with the way companies produce the paper towels. Lean manufacturing, in which companies make only as much product as they believe customers will buy on a given day -- has borne the brunt of the blame for the shortage. Also, you can't make a paper towel with only 99% of the supplies needed to manufacture them. As supply chains freeze up during the pandemic, paper towel companies have been unable to ramp up production because they don't always have access to the materials they need."
Hoarding, manufacturing slow-downs, lack of material.
This is so 2020 where knowing the why of something doesn't make it any easier.
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