Lack of truckers led to limited sales of toilet paper

Costco has announced it will restrict sales of toilet paper and other products due to a supply chain problem due to a lack of truck drivers.

During a call on Thursday, Costco CFO Richard Galanti told investors that various supply chain issues, including problems finding trucks and drivers, prompted the company to set limits on the amount of goods that people can buy. Costco has placed restrictions on household items, including toilet paper, bottled water and some products for cleaning.

«Pressure factors on supply chains and inflation include port delays, container shortages, disruptions due to Covid, shortages of various components, raw materials and ingredients, labor costs and shortages of trucks and truck drivers. Various major brands require longer lead times and, in some cases, have difficulty finding truck drivers and trucks on short notice,» as Galanti said.

« There was a shortage of goods a year ago,» as Galanti continued.

«They now have a lot of goods, but their delivery is delayed by several weeks because there is a limit on short-term changes in the needs of suppliers for road transport and delivery, so it’s really ubiquitous.»

While groups such as the Owner-Operator Inedepend Drivers Association (OOIDA) warned of a serious shortage of truckers for years, others, such as the Independent American Traffic Association (ATA), argued that the shortage of truckers is a «myth» and that turnover of human resources is the real source of the problem in the industry.

Costco initially set limits on the purchase of items such as toilet paper in the early days of the COVID-19 crisis, when customers began to buy and stockpile items.