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People are emptying Jacksonville shelves because of the port strike. Experts say it’s unnecessary

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Paper towels and toilet paper have been in short supply in some stores across the United States.

News4JAX found empty shelves of what should be toilet paper and paper towels at several Jacksonville stores, including Costco, Walmart and Aldi.

One X user showed a photo of empty shelves at Costco and Target stores in New Jersey. News4JAX’s sister station KPRC also reported instances of panic buying in Houston.

It comes as some people are worried about the effects of an ongoing port strike.

MORE | Dockworkers’ strike could push up prices, cause shortages; Jacksonville workers demanding fair contract

Experts say people have nothing to worry about when it comes to paper products. The overwhelming majority — more than 90% by some estimates — of US toilet paper consumption comes from domestic factories, CNN reported. The rest comes from Canada and Mexico, which means it most likely arrives by rail or truck, not ship.

The most likely affected items include bananas, alcohol, seafood, electronics, pharmaceuticals, cars, auto parts and machinery parts.

Dr. Jim Mirabella, a professor of Decision Sciences at Jacksonville University, warns that hoarding paper products is creating a problem that doesn’t exist. If the strike lasts long enough, a shortage of goods that come in on ships would be most likely.

“Totally understand saying I’m going to stock up and have a month’s supply of frozen foods or I’m going to have a lot of canned goods,” Mirabella said. “And there’s nothing wrong with saying I’ll buy an extra packet of paper towels and toilet paper because I’m afraid people are going to hoard it. But the more we do, the more it’s going to actually choke us.”

Some are attributing the overreaction to COVID-19 PTSD.

Consumer studies define panic buying as a behavioral phenomenon. Once one person knows of another person that’s doing it, it sets off a chain reaction.

Mirabella said there’s really no need to panic.

“PTSD is a perfect way to describe it. What happened with the pandemic people felt how long it took just to get toilet paper, and they don’t want to see that happen against they’re buying something completely unnecessary and starting it all over again,” Mirabella said.

RELATED | The president could invoke a 1947 law to try to suspend the dockworkers’ strike. Here’s how


About the Author
Tiffany Salameh headshot

Tiffany comes home to Jacksonville, FL from WBND in South Bend, Indiana. She went to Mandarin High School and UNF. Tiffany is a former WJXT intern, and joined the team in 2023 as Consumer Investigative Reporter and member of the I-TEAM.

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