SPOKANE, Wash. — Grocery store staff say it could be several weeks before shelves will be full of toilet paper again.
Supermarkets around Spokane are trying to catch up on depleted items like toilet paper, cleaning supplies and diapers.
“We basically emptied all the reserves of our suppliers,” said Jeff Philipps, CEO of Rosauers Supermarkets.
Philipps said manufacturers, store suppliers and truck drivers are working overtime to get these items back on the shelves.
But restocking isn’t as easy as just making more orders. The materials required to make many paper products take longer to gather and manufacture than other items.
“One of the challenges is that the raw materials to make those things,” Philipps said. “Once you empty the supply chain totally, then you’ve gotta worry about getting those materials back to the manufacturer in order for them to produce that product.”
Many manufacturers have started making mostly toilet paper and cleaning products instead of their usual spread of items.
“We still have a few things that are still trickling in. But the good news is that we are getting trucks every single day,” Philipps said.