Is toilet paper affected by port attacks? Here’s what you need to know before panic buying supplies.

As the port strike continues into its third day, some consumers are increasingly concerned about whether it could lead to a shortage of toilet paper, prompting some to remove supplies of the product from store shelves. But experts say there’s no need to worry about a toilet paper shortage because most of it is made in the US.

Some consumers on Thursday posted pictures of empty shelves at major retailers, with some noting that shoppers were filling carts full of toilet paper rolls. For some, the image suggests a replay of the impact of the pandemic in 2020, when supply chain problems caused by the health emergency lead to shortages of toilet paper and other products.

“You… the toilet paper hoarding of 2020 is just back!” one shopper wrote on X, the former Twitter. “Both Costcos sold out of the Kirkland brand. Everyone in line had 2 packs and one person had 8!! Seriously people, don’t do this again…”

But experts say the situation is different from the dockworker strike dead 14 cities on the East and Gulf coasts starting Tuesday. The labor dispute is unlikely to affect toilet paper or many other supermarket products, such as meat and breakfast cereals, because most of them are produced domestically, Michigan State University professor Jason Miller told CBS News.

“It’s just really important for people to understand this is a very different situation than the worldwide pandemic that we don’t know what we had, you know, four and a half years ago,” said Miller, the supply chain expert. , he said. “There’s no reason to panic over this port attack. You know, everything will be okay.”

About 85% of US demand for tissue paper, including toilet paper, paper towels, napkins and facial tissues, is supplied by US tissue manufacturers, according to a statement from the American Forest & Paper Association, a trade group for the paper and wood products industry. .

“The American Forest & Paper Association is aware of reports of toilet paper shortages, some of which have been caused by the current port strike,” said Heidi Brock, the group’s CEO, in a statement sent to CBS MoneyWatch.

He added, “While we continue to ask the (International Longshoremen’s Association) and the USMX to quickly end this attack to restore our members’ access to export their products, we want to emphasize that we are not aware of the expected impact on the shipping of tissue products in the US”

Can stores enforce toilet paper restrictions?

Ironically, panic-buying or hoarding can create shortages of toilet paper or other products, although there is little risk of shortfalls due to port strikes, Miller said.

“I think the retailers will be back very quickly,” Miller said. “It would be very helpful if some of the big retailers would come out and make some public statements about this. You know, Walmart, Target, Costco come out and say, ‘There’s too much inventory, we put this limit, stop it.'”

Walmart, Target, Kroger and Publix did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Kimberly-Clark, maker of Cottonelle and Scott brand products, said the port strike “does not currently affect our ability to supply paper products or other products.”

What items will be affected by the port attack?

That doesn’t mean that some things won’t be affected by a labor stoppage, especially if it lasts for weeks, rather than days. More than 100 food categoriesincluding bananas and chocolate, depending on operations that are currently closed, while imported beverages such as beer and wine are also at risk of shortages if the attacks continue.

For example, it can be more expensive to buy bananas on the East Coast, or even to find them. Imported wines can also be scarce, although there are still plenty of wines on the shelves, as the US is a large producer.

“If you’re on the East or Gulf coasts, I’d say enjoy the bananas while you can get them. Because this is the situation if this attack continues for three weeks, it’s going to be harder and or more expensive to get bananas,” Miller said.

Even so, much of what is consumed in the U.S. is made domestically, he added.

“Even though there’s this narrative that we don’t make anything in the United States, we actually make a lot of stuff,” Miller said. “And especially the things in the supermarket, we make them here, the soaps and detergents you use are made here in the United States. You don’t need to buy a year’s supply now thinking that it comes from Europe.”

Nancy Chen and

Joe Enoch

contributed to this report.