Joined: May 10, 2007 Posts: 2740 Location: The Entropisphere
Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 1:37 pm Post subject: Re: Timeline for Grocery store food shortages..........
vision-master wrote:
Dig this. This morning my trucking broker friend calls and we touch base on PO, although He hasn’t been a believer in the past, he's starting to come around. We get talking about food prices (that’s what he’s runs, fruit from Cali). He goes on to tell me, theirs no money in hauling can-goods. Then he tells me about his brother who sent a truck down to Texas for some can-goods and made a total of $500. Fuel costs alone were $3,600. Not enough profit to cover tire wear. The big corporations are not willing to pay the current shipping costs. So, these independents will get squeezed so much that stuff will not get transported SOON! Anyhoo, he figures we will start seeing food shortages within three Months and or if fuel rises another $1 gal. And, on top of that, he say’s you better start stocking up. This is from someone who just bought an F-350 4 door. :Shocked:
Won't they "just" have to raise the prices, give more to the trucker or the trucking company to make it profitable again? _________________ "Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain."
-Friedrich von Schiller
"What I try, may not work. It may be ineffective. It might even turn out in the pages of history to be the exact wrong thing to do, but I'm going to try to do what I c
Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 1:42 pm Post subject: Re: Timeline for Grocery store food shortages..........
Jack wrote:
canis_lupus wrote:
I have been looking for the paperwork on this stat: in the event of a truckers' strike, there is only three days worth of food in our supermarkets. Can anybody here refute this? I've been digging around the Net and can't find anything.
For some things, it may be less. Here's a link... LINK
Wow. That link's an eye-opener.
One thing I have noticed at the Pizza Hut and McDonalds both recently is that they have be "out" of things. I attributed to ordering "close to the skin" and not be willing to tolerate any chance of loss from the expiration of those items before sell. I haven't heard about any trouble with deliveries. But I suppose this means that they may be keeping even less on hand, which means they'll run out sooner than even this link says.
Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 1:53 pm Post subject: Re: Timeline for Grocery store food shortages..........
wisconsin_cur wrote:
Won't they "just" have to raise the prices, give more to the trucker or the trucking company to make it profitable again?
I think so, eventually. But it's going to come down to who wants to pony up and pay the extra cost first. And right now the hold out is killing lots of independents. I am thinking that they know if they pay that much and go up that much on retail prices people can't buy their products. So it's a catch 22, but I don't really think there's going to be choice. They'll have to go up and sell less.
Anyway, it's all the more reason to be stocking the pantry right now. Can't eat stocked goods forever, but they can hold you over in some tight spots.
Joined: Sep 03, 2007 Posts: 598 Location: Sunny Virginia, USA
Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 4:47 am Post subject: Re: Timeline for Grocery store food shortages..........
vision-master wrote:
jlw61 wrote:
This is very interesting information and I'm not surprised to hear it. I do however believe you will find that there will be shortages in certain kinds of things. For instance, while Virginia will be swimming in peaches, Wisconsin will be full of apples because, I believe, truck shipping plays a big part on the distribution of those items. How California will be able to ship all of its produce, I haven't a clue.
The north south runs will still have the railroads (FL oranges come up along I-95 by the train load) but the East-West migration of food is going to be a bit of a problem. I suspect the worst shortages will be, as you said, canned and fresh foods if it is traveling East or West. The railroads will still be hauling for a long time, but it takes longer and I don't know how well the railroads can ramp up on refrigerator cars.
Thru the grape vine, I heard rail shippments are backed up for two years. Not enough capacity? I know where I grew up the Soo Line was huge. That all changed in the 80's. Now I think we have a pretty fragmented rail system.
I can really only speak to the I-95 corridor for first-hand knowledge in the last 10 years and it is booming for rail. Lots of rail cars passing by everyday. There appears (ancidotally) to be a drop off on trucks over last year. That is perhaps wishful thinking on my part, but it SEEMS to be the case. _________________ When somebody makes a statement you don't understand, don't tell him he's crazy. Ask him what he means. -- Otto Harkaman, Space Viking
Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 5:17 am Post subject: Re: Timeline for Grocery store food shortages..........
A nationwide truckers strike of a scale which would have the effect of drawing down supermarket supplies could prompt the government (federal at least) to drop diesel fuel taxes. The loss of revenue would be a drop in the bucket compared to the money currently being printed to bail out banks. It is in the interest of the government to keep the distribution system moving to preserve order.
The fuel taxes would be a help to the truckers, and may get them back on the road, but the shipping contracts have to actually pay enough to cover expenses. The government has no control over this. Price increases will have to be passed on to the consumer. I can see some marketplace disruption being needed to rearrange industry price structures. How long it takes, I have no clue. The American consumer will be able to put up with it for a few days, but when the Angel Soft runs out, there will be an uproar. Keep an eye on the trucking strike in Spain to get an idea of how long it will take before panic buying sets in. _________________ If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--for ever."
-George Orwell, 1984
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 5:59 pm Post subject: Re: Timeline for Grocery store food shortages..........
I purchase foodstuffs from several suppliers.
Mainly GFS, Sysco, and US Foodservice.
So far, I have not had many problems with out of stock items.
The only change has been the addition of a fuel surcharge to deliveries.
If anything shortage related develops, I will post it pronto.
Last edited by Chef_Rich on Tue Jun 17, 2008 6:11 pm; edited 1 time in total
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 6:01 pm Post subject: Re: Timeline for Grocery store food shortages..........
I work for the RR. We cannot handle any more freight. And produce too hard to handle anyway. We move on ton of freight, 500 miles on one GALLON of fuel so a good resource.
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