Consumer fears over product shortages saw shoppers stocking up on toilet paper, paper towels and bottled water, leaving grocery store shelves stripped bare.
They cleaned out the toilet paper at my local Walmart in Virginia. Toilet paper hoarding 2.0! pic.twitter.com/Ai0wcb1VCN
— Jennifer (@BaumgartlJ) October 2, 2024
Shelves at Costco & Target running low or out of paper towels in Monmouth Cty. #NJ. Seeing ppl buying TP & water too in reax to #portstrike2024 -Costco employee told me they were sold out of TP/paper towels this am. What are you seeing at your #NJ store? Post pics & location ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ugFDzPKpHt
— Jen Icklan Eckert (@jicklan) October 1, 2024
Shoppers resorted to panic buying due to fears of product shortages as many shipping ports across the US closed due to industrial action.
Over 45,000 dockworkers went on strike on Tuesday after contract negotiations broke down.
Consumers have rushed to stock up on essentials because of concerns that industrial action would impact imported goods.
While the strike action was expected to impact supplies of imported food and beverages such as bananas, alcohol and chocolate, most toilet paper sold in the US is produced domestically.
US port workers and operators reached a deal to end the East Coast strike on Oct. 3.
