Global Supply Chain Crisis 2021: Megathread - A cozy thread for watching the supply chain fall apart just in time for the holidays

[The Lawgiver]

I have personally seen some of this: retailers are now filling the shelves with massive amounts of the items they can still get to make the store look filled out.

Retailers turn to bizarre tactics to cover up empty shelves as supply chain crisis worsens

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Live link to the Twitter post, since it's actually a video showing the ENTIRE STORE is filled with nothing but lawn chairs.
Archive just in case. Video doesn't work here.

The Britbongs have gotten slightly more devious and are putting out photos of products. If you look closely, the plastic bottles on the middle three rows (second photo) are actually print outs.
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This kinda shits existed in stores for the last 6 years or so, at least in the US. I remember when they didn't stock any videogames at the targets nearby me save for epic mickey 2 a few years back it was the most surreal shit. Part of the shit of "items on shelves where they don't belong" is due to scalpers in the system intentionally putting things in the wrong spot and flippingthe "overstock" online. That issue started getting freaky widespread sometime before the pandemic but corona times made it infinitely worse. The paper cutouts thing is usually to tell where something is supposed to go to employees, but the way that one's cut is extremely devious and absolutely in no way tied to that considering there's fake shelf detail and no spring-loaded system pushing the thing forwards.

 

[Daddy's Little Kitten]

Milk here has risen in price.

 

[contradiction of terns]

This kinda shits existed in stores for the last 6 years or so, at least in the US. I remember when they didn't stock any videogames at the targets nearby me save for epic mickey 2 a few years back it was the most surreal shit. Part of the shit of "items on shelves where they don't belong" is due to scalpers in the system intentionally putting things in the wrong spot and flippingthe "overstock" online. That issue started getting freaky widespread sometime before the pandemic but corona times made it infinitely worse. The paper cutouts thing is usually to tell where something is supposed to go to employees, but the way that one's cut is extremely devious and absolutely in no way tied to that considering there's fake shelf detail and no spring-loaded system pushing the thing forwards.

I'm a former retail wagie as well (gotta make money somehow when you're just out of highschool), and I agree that if this was happening in an isolated location or two it wouldn't be at all remarkable. Like others in the thread have mentioned, planograms are just how the store shows what goes where when rotating inventory or restocking, and getting creative with putting out product to cover up gaps on the shelves is standard practice if a truck is delayed or a shipment doesn't come in.

What makes this remarkable -- and yes, probably a bit frightening for some people -- is that it's a wide scale problem. If you know you can go elsewhere to get your food it's no big deal, but most stores are having issues. If I knew the grocery stores were having problems walking into a Walmart or w/e and seeing nothing but lawn chairs on the shelves would feel deeply wrong to me.

It's also Uncanny Valley AF.

As per tradition I'm throwing a few totally unrelated items in since I was able to find enough for a small News Roundup.

• ‘I’m afraid we’re going to have a food crisis’: The energy crunch has made fertilizer too expensive to produce, says Yara CEO
• Truck Drivers, Facing Shortages, Expect More to Quit Over Biden Vaccine Mandate
• COVID 'long haulers' spur unprecedented demand for oxygen amid shortages
• Due To Shortages, Some Mass. Towns Offering Hourly Rates Over $150 For Plow Drivers

And for everyone's amusement, here's CNN dooming.
• If the labor shortage continues, the US economy won't be able to recover

Biden isn't going to do anything because he's flat out announced -- in an official White House press release no less -- that he wants to collectivize the supply chain. If it corrects itself he doesn't have an excuse to do that, so we're on our own.

Now consider what winter will be like when they're offering $150 an hour to drive a snow plow... in early November, before it's started to really snow.

 

[The Lawgiver]

I'm a former retail wagie as well (gotta make money somehow when you're just out of highschool), and I agree that if this was happening in an isolated location or two it wouldn't be at all remarkable. Like others in the thread have mentioned, planograms are just how the store shows what goes where when rotating inventory or restocking, and getting creative with putting out product to cover up gaps on the shelves is standard practice if a truck is delayed or a shipment doesn't come in.

What makes this remarkable -- and yes, probably a bit frightening for some people -- is that it's a wide scale problem. If you know you can go elsewhere to get your food it's no big deal, but most stores are having issues. If I knew the grocery stores were having problems walking into a Walmart or w/e and seeing nothing but lawn chairs on the shelves would feel deeply wrong to me.

It's also Uncanny Valley AF.

As per tradition I'm throwing a few totally unrelated items in since I was able to find enough for a small News Roundup.

• ‘I’m afraid we’re going to have a food crisis’: The energy crunch has made fertilizer too expensive to produce, says Yara CEO
• Truck Drivers, Facing Shortages, Expect More to Quit Over Biden Vaccine Mandate
• COVID 'long haulers' spur unprecedented demand for oxygen amid shortages
• Due To Shortages, Some Mass. Towns Offering Hourly Rates Over $150 For Plow Drivers

And for everyone's amusement, here's CNN dooming.
• If the labor shortage continues, the US economy won't be able to recover


Biden isn't going to do anything because he's flat out announced -- in an official White House press release no less -- that he wants to collectivize the supply chain. If it corrects itself he doesn't have an excuse to do that, so we're on our own.

Now consider what winter will be like when they're offering $150 an hour to drive a snow plow... in early November, before it's started to really snow.

Most uncanny valley shit was months back when a bunch of cheapass "space jam:a new legacy" toys and merch were just thrown in EVERY department at some chain retailers by me. Nobody bought them and I'm pretty sure that shit was partially responsible for the trend of stealing lebron heads and inflating those goojitsu things with water became a thing. Like "well the store apperently REALLY wants us to buy this shit instead of what we're here for fuck it time for the funny".

 

[Phalanges Mycologist]

Most uncanny valley shit was months back when a bunch of cheapass "space jam:a new legacy" toys and merch were just thrown in EVERY department at some chain retailers by me. Nobody bought them and I'm pretty sure that shit was partially responsible for the trend of stealing lebron heads and inflating those goojitsu things with water became a thing. Like "well the store apperently REALLY wants us to buy this shit instead of what we're here for fuck it time for the funny".

They got trashed there was something about it on one of the recycling blogs as most of it's ended up in landfill and was of dubious quality to beging with, the whole film was supposedly shat out by Disney to sort some IP issues out (assertaition of the IP ownership or something like that) and with the hope that with the nostalgia of the original space jam film still being online and getting hits semi regularly etc of them getting a surprising win.

 

[Glad I couldn't help]

Well there is commercial paper (like copy paper), paper like for packaging, paper for tissue/towel/napkin. Which kind do u mean?

Paper for books.

Here's a YouTuber talking about this issue (and yes, I know he has a furry in the thumbnail, so I guess take it with a grain of salt) (from 2:50 to 5:15):

 

[Sped Xing]

I should be getting a chest freezer today. Some quick mathemagic says storing flour enough to meet my family's carb requirements for a month would be something like 20 gallons, holy balls. I think I'll fill the freezer with meat, veggies, and milk, and see about some sealable buckets and oxygen scavengers for flour, rice, and the like.

I planted wheat very shittly due to time constraints, so hopefully it at least holds the soil together a bit, but I'll try again next year. Does anyone know anything about electric mills for making small batches of flour?

 

[The Lawgiver]

They got trashed there was something about it on one of the recycling blogs as most of it's ended up in landfill and was of dubious quality to beging with, the whole film was supposedly shat out by Disney to sort some IP issues out (assertaition of the IP ownership or something like that) and with the hope that with the nostalgia of the original space jam film still being online and getting hits semi regularly etc of them getting a surprising win.

It was Warner, not disney, but yeah the film was basically ready player 1 but space jam and somehow more fucking blatantly cash grabby lmao.

 

[Phalanges Mycologist]

It was Warner, not disney, but yeah the film was basically ready player 1 but space jam and somehow more fucking blatantly cash grabby lmao.

Shit my bad sorry, i forgot the WB characters.

And i've not seen the film but have been told it was a shit show, and that for some reason the Droogs from Clockwork Orange are in it etc so I've got 0 interest in seeing it.

 

[Sped Xing]

Shit my bad sorry, i forgot the WB characters.

And i've not seen the film but have been told it was a shit show, and that for some reason the Droogs from Clockwork Orange are in it etc so I've got 0 interest in seeing it.

I remember the innocent times just a few years ago when I would have thought including a rape gang in a children's movie was a mistake.

 

[Dog-O-Tron 5000v5.0]

I remember the innocent times just a few years ago when I would have thought including a rape gang in a children's movie was a mistake.

Thankfully we're more enlightened now.

 

[Kramer on the phone]

12 gallons of milk per week? Wot?

that sounds semi-reasonable. i know a mormon family of 6 that drinks that much. but yes for the average US middle class family of a single parent and a mulato kid they probably drink 12 gallons of milk a decade.

Also where are they offering $150 an hour for snow plow jobs? is that guy in Maine. literally check every week and no job in a 100 mile radius pays more than where i currently work, unless i want to lie about a nursing degree and inject people with covid.

 

[Art Kassul]

12 gallons of milk per week? Wot?

Looks like they're buying lots of breakfast candy, probably why so much milk.

"I feel eally guilty that we're not buying healthy stuff because that's expensive," said the dad. 10 seconds later: "Make sure to buy the expensive frozen Chinese dinners I like."

I hate these people.

 

[Sped Xing]

that sounds semi-reasonable. i know a mormon family of 6 that drinks that much. but yes for the average US middle class family of a single parent and a mulato kid they probably drink 12 gallons of milk a decade.

Also where are they offering $150 an hour for snow plow jobs? is that guy in Maine. literally check every week and no job in a 100 mile radius pays more than where i currently work, unless i want to lie about a nursing degree and inject people with covid.

6 people, 12 gallons, so 2 gallons per week per person, so more than a quart a day? That's still a fuckload of milk, crimony.

 

[Jump]

I should be getting a chest freezer today.

Good deal. You should also get a freezer thermometer. I don't think the thermostat markings can be trusted anymore because of Energy Start ratings fuckery. Half way isn't actually in the deep freeze range anymore.
For deep freeze you need to have a temp of 0F or colder. Thats where food decay is basically stopped.
If your flash freezing stuff then you want it at -10F. Flash freezing means smaller/no ice crystals that change the food's texture. Makes big difference with veggies. Mine sits at -8 to -10F.
The colder setting also means you get more time if the power goes out.

 

[Lorne Armstrong]

Looks like they're buying lots of breakfast candy, probably why so much milk.

"I feel eally guilty that we're not buying healthy stuff because that's expensive," said the dad. 10 seconds later: "Make sure to buy the expensive frozen Chinese dinners I like."

I hate these people.

I don’t hate them, just don’t understand them. When you buy the prepackaged/premade/frozen dinner stuff, you’re paying for the cost of the ingredients that go in it PLUS the costs of preparation and packaging it. Making it yourself is not only healthier, it’s a LAWT cheaper. What you save on by buying the prefab stuff isn’t the cost in money, it’s the cost in time. With both parents working, it’s a lot easier to buy that junk and dish it out every night instead of home-cooked meals. So maybe I do understand it a little bit, but it doesn’t take much time to cook some rice, chop up a chicken breast or 2 and some veggies, and fry it all up for dinner. That feeds the entire family chicken stir-fry for dinner with leftovers for lunch the next day for less money than one of those frozen dinners for 1 person costs and takes MAYBE 30 minutes, all-in.

 

[Lorne Armstrong]

6 people, 12 gallons, so 2 gallons per week per person, so more than a quart a day? That's still a fuckload of milk, crimony.

To be fair, that Mormon family might be consuming a lot of that dairy in home-baked goods. It’s still a lot, but if they’re making EVERYTHING at home, and want pancakes/waffles every day for breakfast and cake for dessert every night I could maybe see that.

 

[Lorne Armstrong]

I should be getting a chest freezer today. Some quick mathemagic says storing flour enough to meet my family's carb requirements for a month would be something like 20 gallons, holy balls. I think I'll fill the freezer with meat, veggies, and milk, and see about some sealable buckets and oxygen scavengers for flour, rice, and the like.

I planted wheat very shittly due to time constraints, so hopefully it at least holds the soil together a bit, but I'll try again next year. Does anyone know anything about electric mills for making small batches of flour?

I’ve looked into small electric mills and even hand crank mills a little bit, but haven’t gotten too much into it because flour, like rice and beans, can keep a really long time just in the sack if stored correctly and critters kept out of it. What I do is keep the bulk dry goods stored in a dark, dry, climate controlled area, then have large jars or in the case of flour a very large Tupperware container in the kitchen that I fill up and keep for using out of each day. When the jars/tub are empty, just go to your storage and fill them back up. That keeps you from having to go to a 50lb bag of flour every time you need a cup.

If you’re really worried about storage in your home, bags of flour/sugar store just fine in the freezer. A few 4/5lb bags can be stacked in there like bricks if you want.

 

[Gar For Archer]

I’ve looked into small electric mills and even hand crank mills a little bit, but haven’t gotten too much into it because flour, like rice and beans, can keep a really long time just in the sack if stored correctly and critters kept out of it. What I do is keep the bulk dry goods stored in a dark, dry, climate controlled area, then have large jars or in the case of flour a very large Tupperware container in the kitchen that I fill up and keep for using out of each day. When the jars/tub are empty, just go to your storage and fill them back up. That keeps you from having to go to a 50lb bag of flour every time you need a cup.

I do this for spices as well. Buy them in bulk, fill up small containers for daily use, refill as needed.

 

[BluntyBitch]

I visited several home depot's in the upper Midwest in the last month.

Xmas stuff got set up really early at all of them because the Halloween sections were small and everything was here n gone very quickly.

Super sucks because I hate Christmas.

Good deal. You should also get a freezer thermometer. I don't think the thermostat markings can be trusted anymore because of Energy Start ratings fuckery. Half way isn't actually in the deep freeze range anymore.
For deep freeze you need to have a temp of 0F or colder. Thats where food decay is basically stopped.
If your flash freezing stuff then you want it at -10F. Flash freezing means smaller/no ice crystals that change the food's texture. Makes big difference with veggies. Mine sits at -8 to -10F.
The colder setting also means you get more time if the power goes out.

They're redic expensive and the only folks I know who have them are rich restauranteur foodie types unforch

Edited to add:
Yeah gp is a great corporate place to work if you're not in the factory, but in an auditor position and then truly in the know about stuff where the factory workers know something is up but they can't say.