Odds and Ends — 2 November 2012


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More anecdotal ramblings about supply chain issues in my little neck of the woods. I drove out to a Fleet Farm (a mishmash of 20% hardware store, 20% farming supplies, 20% clothing and household goods, 40% a bit of everything else) yesterday. Out west of the suburb I live in. Carver, Minnesota is on the border between being far out exurb and near in rural. A good place to pick up some straw needed in our garden. I got that and a few other things and then wandered about to see how well they were stocked. Men’s clothing was thinly stocked and haphazardly shelved, as if they were too short-staffed to put things back where they belonged.

Out front there was a big sign offering a $500 sign-on bonus. Over the PA system, enticement to apply then and there. A stack of job application forms at the entrance to the restrooms. Seemingly desperate to hire anyone with a pulse.

The hardware section had lots of empty shelves, but plenty of $999+ snowblowers. The TP and paper towels area was almost bare, maybe 15% stocked at most. Lots of Christmas decorations, but a thinly stocked toy section. Over in the hunting section, it looked like a tornado had come through. A few dozen used shotguns and carbines/rifles, but not a single new one hanging on the walls. Less than two dozen handguns. A few dozen boxes of shotgun shells, but only for 12- and 20-gauge. Limited .22 ammo but only LR. Zero 9mm ammunition. The archery section looked mighty thin, but plenty of fishing supplies.

Later when I went to a grocery store near to home, lots of empty shelves in the cereal aisle. Little beef, at high prices. Maybe half the coffee they usually stock. But lots and lots of eggs, cheaply priced at $0.77 a dozen large.

What supply chain issues are you seeing where you live?

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There's going to be no supply chain issues in Canada.

California oranges would be the o ly thing we will be missing, during holiday time some certain fruits that don't grow in the winter are imported, but our population is so low that it typically is never felt by the end consumer.

In the states you have the per capita city size to threaten a supply chain, but there is very good logistics in Western Canada.

Consumer electronics are being held up on China i heard, but the only PC hardware upgrade I am looking for is over $1500 (USD) so like the snow blowers it's available.

We did see the toilet paper sellouts at the start of covid, but it was limited to metropolitan areas with big populations.

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