AUSTIN, Texas — This week, giant warehouse retailer Costco announced it is limiting purchases of toilet paper, paper towels, some cleaning supplies and even its own brand of bottled water.
It sounds familiar.
Who can forget the shortages of 2020 when toilet paper manufacturers could barely keep up with demand during the first COVID-19 outbreak, mainly due to people raiding store shelves?
The shortages this time center on the delta variant-fueled surge of COVID-19, but also by serious supply chain problems. That’s how products get from the people who make them to the people who sell them.
The shortage of containers that carry raw materials and consumer products on big container ships continues to be a challenge, and deliveries are being slowed by a shortage of trucks and drivers in the U.S.
Retail analysts say that Costco won’t be the only retail chain to start limiting purchases of some products. Many will try to prevent stockpiling to address an anticipated shortage of everything from Thanksgiving turkeys to Christmas trees in the coming months.
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