A Few Products That Are Still Hard to Get Right Now

Well, get ready you summer BBQ-ers. Your grill may not be as full as it was last summer, and one of your favorite condiments may be hard to find too!

It's not only the pandemic that's caused shortages in some items, we're also seeing the hard freeze from this past winter is now causing some shortages. Items that normally wouldn't be hard to find this time of year may be limited this Spring and Summer.

• Building Materials - whether it's from the freezing temps or shortage of workers, many are finding that material for home remodeling is taking longer than usual to get. This includes building materials like lumber, tile, aluminum, insulation, steel, and PVC piping. Many of the items are in short supply.
• Chicken - If you've gone to the grocery store lately, you may have seen either that the selection of chicken is less than normal and /or the prices have gone up. When winter storm Uri hit in February in areas across the United States know as the Sun Belt, it caused some big problems. In a story from AARP.com, it was felt very hard by Sanderson Farms, Inc. in Texas. In a story from the Wall Street Journal, a company executive said:

"The storm forced the chicken company to euthanize 545,000 chicks that couldn't be shipped due to hazardous road conditions and that another 455,000 chickens died due to cold temperatures."

• Ketchup - Unfortunately, you may wind up finding an alternative condiment for your hamburger, hot dog, and fries. Those little packets of ketchup that were tossed around like the supply would never end, has ended...at least temporarily. Heinz, the ketchup folks, is having a hard time with producing the little packets since we all increased our activity thru the drive-thru's for food during the pandemic.
• Vehicles - Semiconductor chip production is the culprit on this one. Delays in vehicle manufacturing are down and so are the number of cars, trucks, and SUV's on the dealer's lots.