Finding toilet paper and bottled water might get tougher in Delaware as panic buying ramps up due to the ongoing port workers’ strike along the East and Gulf coasts. This reaction is happening despite the fact that many of these products are made domestically, evoking scenes similar to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
Stores across New Castle County, especially bulk retailers, were flooded with shoppers Wednesday morning, clearing out supplies of toilet paper and large packs of bottled water.
At BJ’s in Newark, store-brand bath tissue was sold out by 11 a.m., and the store had already gone through 21 pallets of 40-packs of bottled water. Leslie Glassford, BJ’s front-end manager, said the rush had lasted three days and asked customers to be patient as stores tried to keep up with demand. Have patience, we are doing the best we can, she urged.
Over at Costco in Christiana, shelves typically stocked with toilet paper and bottled water were empty by 11:30 a.m., just an hour and a half after opening. A sign at the entrance alerted customers that toilet paper and Kirkland Signature water were out of stock by noon. Employees noted that eggs and bananas were also being snapped up quickly, though a new shipment of bananas arrived in time.
Meanwhile, grocery stores hadn’t been hit quite as hard—yet. At the Prices Corner Acme, there was a noticeable uptick in customers, some buying toilet paper in bulk, but shelves were still mostly stocked. The increase wasn’t entirely unexpected, as it may have been influenced by the recent closure of the Kirkwood Acme in Milltown.
The rush to buy toilet paper and bottled water is fueled by fear, even though these products aren’t significantly impacted by the port strike that started on October 1. Items like fresh fruit, cars, seafood, and electronics, which rely on imports, are more likely to be affected.
Most of the toilet paper sold in the U.S. is produced domestically. The Center for Land Use Interpretation noted in 2021 that the shortage during the early pandemic was due to demand outpacing the usual supply chain flow. Speeding up production is tricky because of the bulky nature of toilet paper packages.
Nearby, the Kimberly-Clark paper mill in Chester, Pennsylvania, produced 60% of Scott 1000 toilet paper in 2022. Kirkland Signature bottled water is also sourced domestically, while Deer Park bottles its water from springs across the East Coast, including in Pennsylvania and Maryland.