Experts say there's no need to panic buy as port strike worries some Pittsburgh shoppers
UPDATE: The union representing striking dockworkers reached a tentative deal to suspend its strike until Jan. 15 to negotiate a new contract.
The previous story is below.
GREENSBURG, Pa. (KDKA) — When it comes to imported goods at local stores amid the port strike, experts say now is not the time to panic buy.
"It's just crazy. There's no toilet paper. There are no paper towels," Greensburg resident Nicole Humphrey said outside of the Hempfield Walmart on Thursday. "People are going crazy again. Everyone needs to relax a moment."
The reason for the panic buying is that dockworkers at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports are on strike for the first time in almost half a century. This has the public worried about product shortages.
"In terms of paper towels and toilet paper, I think people are soon going to realize those products are made in the states and those should be restocked soon," Humphrey said. "Hopefully people will soon realize and calm down and only take what they need because then we won't have a shortage if you only take what you need."
In fact, according to Jason Miller, the head of Michigan State University's Department of Supply Chain Management, 90% of paper products like toilet paper and paper towels are made in the U.S. and are not affected in any way by the slow down at the ports.
So what products could be affected by the strike? Chief among them is produce, specifically bananas. More than 75% of U.S. bananas arrive at ports handled by the striking International Longshoremen's Association, according to the U.S. Farm Bureau.
Other food items that could be in short supply in a few weeks include things like cherries, cheese, chocolate and sugar. And imported beer, wine and spirits, including rum and scotch, could also soon be scarce.
Some imported cars may also become harder to come by, but that would only be after the U.S. stockpile is depleted, which could take several months.
Of course, only time will tell how long the dockworkers' strike will last and what effects that strike will have for consumers in the Pittsburgh area.