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Supply Chain Bottlenecks

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Volkonski
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#76

Post by Volkonski »

In the 1980's I work for a while at a synthetic rubber plant on the TX Gulf Coast. My work caused me to spend time in the packaging and warehouse areas. The warehouse was active 24/7 to receive 1 ton boxes of baled rubber from the production lines. However trucks were loaded only on the day shift. this meant that a truck that arrived too early would have to wait. A truck that arrived too late would have to find somewhere to spend the night. That also meant being hours late getting to the rubber customer's site the next day (or two or three days later).

The trucks would arrive, show their paperwork, then back into the loading dock. The trailer would be locked to the dock and the wheels would be chocked. The drivers would then wait while the warehouse staff pulled the order and loaded it into the trailer. This might take quite some time. Orders weren't pulled in advance since the warehouse could never be sure exactly when trucks would show up or in what order they would arrive.

There was a small waiting room for the drivers. This was intended to prevent them from having contact with the contract warehouse worker. Only the warehouse manager and a foreman were directly employed by our company. Apparently there is or was a market for black-market synthetic rubber. Thefts had happened due to collusion between warehouse workers and truckers before the waiting room was built.

We much preferred to ship by rail whenever possible.
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#77

Post by raison de arizona »

I don't think that explains any bottlenecks, it isn't anything new. Also:
Number of Truckers at All-Time High
:snippity:
Image
:snippity:
That's only through 2016 though, perhaps it has dropped off again with Covid.

Some interesting data regarding shortages of drivers here:
https://www.trucking.org/sites/default/ ... FINAL_.pdf
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#78

Post by bill_g »

Tried to find egg noodles today. Three stores - nada. Not even a product marker on the shelves. No old fahioned noodles. No no-yolk noodles. No flat noodles. Scads of macaroni and spaghetti. Penni aplenty. Shelves of shells. Vegetable twists. Gluten free spinach somethin-or-other. Gnocchis, but no noodles. Went with bow ties for tuna noodle casserole this week.
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#79

Post by Volkonski »

Our built in oven failed three days ago. The cost to repair was almost as much as a new one. So we started shopping for a new one.

Tried Home Depot, Lowes, Best Buy, Conns, Amazon and some local places. Backordered. Delivery dates in May and June.

Frustration!
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#80

Post by duck dodgers »

I am fond of Chang's spicy chicken. Have only been able to find it once (two weeks ago) in the supermarket in the past 6-8 months. I was thinking that they had simply stopped making it. Disappeared again, though.
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tek
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#81

Post by tek »

bill_g wrote: Sat Feb 12, 2022 6:22 pm Tried to find egg noodles today. Three stores - nada. Not even a product marker on the shelves. No old fahioned noodles. No no-yolk noodles. No flat noodles. Scads of macaroni and spaghetti. Penni aplenty. Shelves of shells. Vegetable twists. Gluten free spinach somethin-or-other. Gnocchis, but no noodles. Went with bow ties for tuna noodle casserole this week.
If they exist near you, try Gordon's Food Service..
We discovered them at the beginning of covid times.. they often had staples that the supermarkets we're out of.
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#82

Post by AndyinPA »

For the first time in almost a year, we found real coffee cream on the shelves today. Bought the last two!

Noodles are something that, for some reason, I often have a hard time finding.
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#83

Post by MN-Skeptic »

I've never been a big fan of cooking. Ever since my sweetie passed away almost 4 years ago, I've been eating quite a few prepared frozen meals. In the past month or two, there's been a lot of open spots in the freezer section. Fortunately the grocery stores also have good deli sections so I'm not starving.
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#84

Post by bill_g »

AndyinPA wrote: Sat Feb 12, 2022 7:25 pm For the first time in almost a year, we found real coffee cream on the shelves today. Bought the last two!

Noodles are something that, for some reason, I often have a hard time finding.
Real cream as in real dairy, or CoffeeMate?
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#85

Post by bill_g »

tek wrote: Sat Feb 12, 2022 7:10 pm
bill_g wrote: Sat Feb 12, 2022 6:22 pm Tried to find egg noodles today. Three stores - nada. Not even a product marker on the shelves. No old fahioned noodles. No no-yolk noodles. No flat noodles. Scads of macaroni and spaghetti. Penni aplenty. Shelves of shells. Vegetable twists. Gluten free spinach somethin-or-other. Gnocchis, but no noodles. Went with bow ties for tuna noodle casserole this week.
If they exist near you, try Gordon's Food Service..
We discovered them at the beginning of covid times.. they often had staples that the supermarkets we're out of.
:like:

We have some thing like that a few miles up the highway. When covid closed the restaurants, US Food Service opened a retail store near one of their distribution centers. They have a lot of stuff, but in commercial sizes. 50# bags of onions and potatoes. Flour that takes a Stevedore to load in your car. Meats that would take us a year to consume. I can only imagine the pack factor they have for pasta products.
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#86

Post by tek »

GFS had (and has) egg noodles in 5lb bags.. which is a lot, but not all THAT much.. and no minimum order

Yes, the 50-lb bags of flour are a bit much :shock:
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#87

Post by Mrich »

Volkonski wrote: Sat Feb 12, 2022 6:29 pm Our built in oven failed three days ago. The cost to repair was almost as much as a new one. So we started shopping for a new one.

Tried Home Depot, Lowes, Best Buy, Conns, Amazon and some local places. Backordered. Delivery dates in May and June.

Frustration!
Try a large toaster oven - some are big enough to bake a cake or do a pizza, they aren't really expensive, and it will come in handy after you get a built in. Mine has a turbo mode.
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#88

Post by Shizzle Popped »

Mrs. Shizzle drinks Fresca but I haven't seen it on the shelves at any of the stores around here for over a year until Friday. I had been able to get it from time to time in the St. Louis area when I went to visit my dad but it was spotty. They had eight cartons at my local Kroger on Friday so maybe it's not going to be so hard to find now.
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#89

Post by Volkonski »

Mrich wrote: Sun Feb 13, 2022 1:42 pm
Volkonski wrote: Sat Feb 12, 2022 6:29 pm Our built in oven failed three days ago. The cost to repair was almost as much as a new one. So we started shopping for a new one.

Tried Home Depot, Lowes, Best Buy, Conns, Amazon and some local places. Backordered. Delivery dates in May and June.

Frustration!
Try a large toaster oven - some are big enough to bake a cake or do a pizza, they aren't really expensive, and it will come in handy after you get a built in. Mine has a turbo mode.
We already have one. :biggrin:
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#90

Post by AndyinPA »

bill_g wrote: Sun Feb 13, 2022 7:15 am
AndyinPA wrote: Sat Feb 12, 2022 7:25 pm For the first time in almost a year, we found real coffee cream on the shelves today. Bought the last two!

Noodles are something that, for some reason, I often have a hard time finding.
Real cream as in real dairy, or CoffeeMate?
Real cream, as in real dairy.

CoffeeMate :fingerwag:

The local, large chain around here is Giant Eagle/Market District. It's the only place I've been able to find real cream anywhere around here. I also shop at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Fresh Thyme, Costco, and occasionally Fresh Market. I've been able to find creamers, not real cream, but close, at Trader Joe's and Fresh Thyme to hold me over.
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#91

Post by W. Kevin Vicklund »

AndyinPA wrote: Mon Feb 14, 2022 10:52 am
bill_g wrote: Sun Feb 13, 2022 7:15 am
AndyinPA wrote: Sat Feb 12, 2022 7:25 pm For the first time in almost a year, we found real coffee cream on the shelves today. Bought the last two!

Noodles are something that, for some reason, I often have a hard time finding.
Real cream as in real dairy, or CoffeeMate?
Real cream, as in real dairy.

CoffeeMate :fingerwag:

The local, large chain around here is Giant Eagle/Market District. It's the only place I've been able to find real cream anywhere around here. I also shop at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Fresh Thyme, Costco, and occasionally Fresh Market. I've been able to find creamers, not real cream, but close, at Trader Joe's and Fresh Thyme to hold me over.
Do you count heavy whipping cream (NOT whipped cream) as real cream? That's what Dr. Vicklund uses for her black teas. Meijer (our equivalent of GEagle) still carries it.
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#92

Post by AndyinPA »

W. Kevin Vicklund wrote: Mon Feb 14, 2022 11:04 am
AndyinPA wrote: Mon Feb 14, 2022 10:52 am
bill_g wrote: Sun Feb 13, 2022 7:15 am

Real cream as in real dairy, or CoffeeMate?
Real cream, as in real dairy.

CoffeeMate :fingerwag:

The local, large chain around here is Giant Eagle/Market District. It's the only place I've been able to find real cream anywhere around here. I also shop at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Fresh Thyme, Costco, and occasionally Fresh Market. I've been able to find creamers, not real cream, but close, at Trader Joe's and Fresh Thyme to hold me over.
Do you count heavy whipping cream (NOT whipped cream) as real cream? That's what Dr. Vicklund uses for her black teas. Meijer (our equivalent of GEagle) still carries it.
That's real cream to me, light whipping cream, too. Half and Half is okay, but I'm not fond of it either. I had no idea real coffee cream was so hard to find until this shortage happened, and I had to hunt for a substitute. I'm not a total coffee snob, but am so far as I'll only have at home fresh=ground beans from Costa Rica from Cafe Britt.

And heavy whipping cream in black tea sounds delightful!
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#93

Post by W. Kevin Vicklund »

AndyinPA wrote: Mon Feb 14, 2022 11:46 am
W. Kevin Vicklund wrote: Mon Feb 14, 2022 11:04 am
AndyinPA wrote: Mon Feb 14, 2022 10:52 am

Real cream, as in real dairy.

CoffeeMate :fingerwag:

The local, large chain around here is Giant Eagle/Market District. It's the only place I've been able to find real cream anywhere around here. I also shop at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Fresh Thyme, Costco, and occasionally Fresh Market. I've been able to find creamers, not real cream, but close, at Trader Joe's and Fresh Thyme to hold me over.
Do you count heavy whipping cream (NOT whipped cream) as real cream? That's what Dr. Vicklund uses for her black teas. Meijer (our equivalent of GEagle) still carries it.
That's real cream to me, light whipping cream, too. Half and Half is okay, but I'm not fond of it either. I had no idea real coffee cream was so hard to find until this shortage happened, and I had to hunt for a substitute. I'm not a total coffee snob, but am so far as I'll only have at home fresh=ground beans from Costa Rica from Cafe Britt.

And heavy whipping cream in black tea sounds delightful!
I ask because I have relatives in Canada and Dr. Vicklund spent a year there doing the research for her dissertation. Quite a few Canadians won't accept anything but double cream in their tea! Unfortunately, I usually can't take real cream in my tea because most brands add carrageenan, a thickener made from seaweed. I have an idiopathic anaphylactic reaction - it gives me a heart arrhythmia that mimics the symptoms of a heart attack. :brokenheart:
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#94

Post by bill_g »

AndyinPA wrote: Mon Feb 14, 2022 10:52 am
Real cream, as in real dairy.

CoffeeMate :fingerwag:

The local, large chain around here is Giant Eagle/Market District. It's the only place I've been able to find real cream anywhere around here. I also shop at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Fresh Thyme, Costco, and occasionally Fresh Market. I've been able to find creamers, not real cream, but close, at Trader Joe's and Fresh Thyme to hold me over.
Mrs lives on Coffeemate. Can't drink coffee without it. I'm a plain old black coffee kinda guy. The service taught me that. They never had any kind of cream or milk or nuthin in the mess hall. I got used to it.
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#95

Post by AndyinPA »

bill_g wrote: Mon Feb 14, 2022 12:30 pm
AndyinPA wrote: Mon Feb 14, 2022 10:52 am
Real cream, as in real dairy.

CoffeeMate :fingerwag:

The local, large chain around here is Giant Eagle/Market District. It's the only place I've been able to find real cream anywhere around here. I also shop at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Fresh Thyme, Costco, and occasionally Fresh Market. I've been able to find creamers, not real cream, but close, at Trader Joe's and Fresh Thyme to hold me over.
Mrs lives on Coffeemate. Can't drink coffee without it. I'm a plain old black coffee kinda guy. The service taught me that. They never had any kind of cream or milk or nuthin in the mess hall. I got used to it.
I will drink it if it's all there is if I'm out; I just don't buy it. Hubby used to always drink black coffee, long before I drank it, but he changed after he tried mine. To each, his own.
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#96

Post by Phoenix520 »

I love steamed, frothy milk in my coffee, like a cappuccino. I have an old cafe press setup that I use - fill 1/3 with milk, take the tamper thingy and pump it up and down 20 times, heat for 45 seconds, drink with any kind of coffee. I also make chai lattes.

ETA We never ran out of heavy cream in CA.
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#97

Post by Volkonski »

“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#98

Post by RTH10260 »

These days I watched a YT clip of a car repairshop. The guy specializes in the highend sector. He presented the car of a customer whose unit was in for a motor block swap. Standard market value for the car would have recently been well below $10K and the swap not cost justified. With the shortage of cars the repair at $5K is a good investment as the customer could ask near to $20K on the market. I understand that the customer will drive his car longer cause he would not find a new car himself if the old one got sold.
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#99

Post by raison de arizona »

We recently had to purchase a car. We went to the Honda dealership and tried to negotiate a new Civic. By the time they added market adjustment ($$) and everything else, we were looking at nearly $46k. For a Honda Civic. With a sticker under $30k.

We ended up buying a seven year old babied used car from our neighbor at blue book.
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Re: Supply Chain Bottlenecks

#100

Post by jcolvin2 »

raison de arizona wrote: Mon Feb 21, 2022 11:15 am We recently had to purchase a car. We went to the Honda dealership and tried to negotiate a new Civic. By the time they added market adjustment ($$) and everything else, we were looking at nearly $46k. For a Honda Civic. With a sticker under $30k.

We ended up buying a seven year old babied used car from our neighbor at blue book.
I bought a new Toyota Highlander Hybrid last month (to replace a 2003 Highlander that was totaled in December). I ended up up taking a ferry from Seattle across Puget Sound to a dealership that was not seeking a $5k “market adjustment.” I did end up paying MSRP, which I do not believe I have ever done before.
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