2021 shortages

[Keith_Indy]

I’ve been doubling/tripling on purchasing groceries when I can’t buy an item on a trip. Canned ground beef was out today, so next trip I see it I’ll be buying 4 cans instead of 2, ready 2X the number of times it was missing.

This strategy seems to be working as our pantry is decently stocked. At least 6-8 weeks of food outside the fridge/freezer.

 

[JeepHammer]

I don't see it the way a lot of you do.
You DO need advanced education to do almost anything above entry level jobs...

I'm NOT saying you need a 4 year degree, but we aren't building homes or buildings with sticks & mud anymore.

'Truck Driving' is a lot more than holding a steering wheel, see the Homeland Security background checks and endless piles of DOT regulations (that are there for a reason, someone had to screw up BAD for the government to get involved).

Something like press or machinery operator has to produce a result that's measured by lasers.

Recently I heard about a guy that offered his kid trade school, backhoe, truck & trailer over collage,
The kid, wanting to get into building contracting researched and found he needed an engineering degree to do most higher paying jobs and took collage engineering.

'Shortages' reach well into finding people actually qualified...
Remember, we allowed education to go into the toilet in this country, both primary/secondary and advanced/specialized.
It takes a crap ton of money to do any collage, and almost everyone starts in remedial class to catch up on what the primary/secondary schools didn't teach...

And let's not forget the privatized student loans now, set up to keep collage students in debt until they are in their 60s.

One thing I can say, I've never seen a protest outside a trade school or union training hall.
Every union training program I've seen has guys with callouses on there hands wearing work boots and ready to do the job.
And yet it seems everyone is encouraging the dismantling of unions, refusing to accredit trade schools.

Don't know the solution, don't have the education to ask the right questions,
Don't have a 'BoobTube Degree' so won't pretend I have the answers...

17 years as a farm kid, 16 years as a combat Marine, back to farming and building stuff with my hands...
Its not made me 'Rich', but it's not failed me yet...

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Destruction of the economy is part and parcel to the scamdemic.

There is no mystery in this.

Expect it to continue through late summer 2022 followed by an "amazing recovery" from really ****** to not as ****** prior to mid term central state elections.

I think part of the plan is to lower our standards. Maybe that’s obvious to many, it’s hard to wrap our mind around things that are so out of the ordinary.
Instead of raising others to our standard, TPTB are bringing us to the lowest common denominator. They’ll make a bigger dependency class than what’s ever been before.

So, just to be clear, you believe that global shortages are an intentional act perpetrated by "someone" for political gain? I'm curious since @buckwacker has assured me that nobody actually believes what they write here about tyranny or a police state. Secretly manipulating the economy to "lower your expectations" would seem to fall into that category, especially if it's some shadowy "TPTB" doing it on purpose.

 

[firecadet613]

So, just to be clear, you believe that global shortages are an intentional act perpetrated by "someone" for political gain? I'm curious since @buckwacker has assured me that nobody actually believes what they write here about tyranny or a police state. Secretly manipulating the economy to "lower your expectations" would seem to fall into that category, especially if it's some shadowy "TPTB" doing it on purpose.

Most retailers are trying to bring as much of their merchandise here, as quickly as possible. They are also paying thru the nose to do so....and it's still taking much longer than normal...

 

[bwframe]

 

[ditcherman]

So, just to be clear, you believe that global shortages are an intentional act perpetrated by "someone" for political gain? I'm curious since @buckwacker has assured me that nobody actually believes what they write here about tyranny or a police state. Secretly manipulating the economy to "lower your expectations" would seem to fall into that category, especially if it's some shadowy "TPTB" doing it on purpose.

Yes.


I guess I’m at that point. That’s what the odds look like to me.

I have no idea what you’re talking about with regards to your assurance of people not believing what they write here. Why bother doing that unless you’re just a keyboard warrior?

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I have no idea what you’re talking about with regards to your assurance of people not believing what they write here. Why bother doing that unless you’re just a keyboard warrior?

@buckwacker told me nobody really believes we live in a tyranny or police state in the US and anyone who wrote things like that were engaged in hyperbole. I figured folks tended to believe what they wrote. Some "they" who do not answer to us, or are even known to us, who control global markets for political gain is definitely under the tyranny umbrella. Seemed like a great opportunity to see which of us was reading the room correctly, hence my question.

 

[ancjr]

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.

 

[BigRed]

@buckwacker told me nobody really believes we live in a tyranny or police state in the US and anyone who wrote things like that were engaged in hyperbole. I figured folks tended to believe what they wrote. Some "they" who do not answer to us, or are even known to us, who control global markets for political gain is definitely under the tyranny umbrella. Seemed like a great opportunity to see which of us was reading the room correctly, hence my question.

I would discuss Buckwacker's opinion with Buckwacker.

 

[ditcherman]

I would discuss Buckwacker's opinion with Buckwacker.

View attachment 160432

What fun is that if you don’t involve some entrapment?

 

[JeepHammer]

I would have to say it's the false "Consumer Economy".

'Things' won't make you happy, and chasing 'Things' will make you miserable.

You can't be a "Real Man" unless you have *This* vehicle, *That* watch, *This* boat, *That* Phone, some McMansion for a house, etc.
Always chasing the next version of what you already have...

Here is a hint,
Timex keeps better time than a Rolex.
The less 'Gadgets' your car, phone, etc have, the less that can go wrong and cost you money.
A good pair of work boots are worth every penny, while a $300 pair of sneakers are a total waste of money.

Classics are classics for a reason, they lasted the test of time...

Manufacturing & Agriculture are real economies, and what built the country.
As described above, when it takes 3 months to get a common truck water pump that no one in this country REBUILDS, not to mention builds new, there is a problem...

Everyone is focused on 'Cheap'.
Warehouses & inventory are expensive.
Now that vehicle manufacturing lines are shutting down for lack of J.I.T. parts, I'm guessing someone *Wishes* they had a warehouse full of parts for a buffer in that J.I.T. supply chain.

Quality products are expensive.
The price comes down with volume.
That means end users buying equipment that isn't considered 'Obsolete' and discontinued every 1-3 years.

For many years I made a pretty good living making replacement parts for 'Discontinued' hardware, some of that stuff wasn't 5 years old, to replacements for equipment that was made in the 50s.

Booming business right now is a used CNC milling and drilling machines,
Surplus 'scrap',
And cranking out small batch replacement parts.
Every small shop I know is running over with business, some booked for a year in advance, and all getting premium price for production.
Anyone with an I.Q. higher than fried rice can learn to write CNC code (GGG is almost an overnight thing).

Remanufacturing business is booming also.

The small metal casting foundries are getting a king's ransom right now, I almost wish I was better at it, it would certainly be worth starting a business if you knew the process.
I do pretty good at aluminum & brass, but cast iron & steel are well beyond my abilities...
(And we come back around to education)

 

[Expat]

Tv news reported just now that Costco is going to limit paper and cleaning supplies. This could trigger another panic spree.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I would discuss Buckwacker's opinion with Buckwacker.

View attachment 160432

We are. This was simply evidence gathering. If people respond they are just engaged in hyperbole, he's right. If people say they believe what they are saying in a literal sense then I was right. If I don't ask, then how are we to know?

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I would have to say it's the false "Consumer Economy".

'Things' won't make you happy, and chasing 'Things' will make you miserable.

You can't be a "Real Man" unless you have *This* vehicle, *That* watch, *This* boat, *That* Phone, some McMansion for a house, etc.
Always chasing the next version of what you already have...

Here is a hint,
Timex keeps better time than a Rolex.
The less 'Gadgets' your car, phone, etc have, the less that can go wrong and cost you money.
A good pair of work boots are worth every penny, while a $300 pair of sneakers are a total waste of money.

Classics are classics for a reason, they lasted the test of time...

There is a middle ground between asceticism and keeping up with the Jones' until your deeply in debt. If "things" won't make me happy, why am I having so much fun with my Camaro? Sure, it's just a "thing" and I could live without it, but fun is ok.

Timex vs Rolex depends on what you want. Either will keep time. Twenty years from now one will be worth more than you paid for it. One will be worthless. Funny you say "classics are classics for a reason" and overlook that aspect.

Spinning shortages as good for the soul or that it's some failing of the consumer economy is nonsense.

 

[Leadeye]

The shortage of industrial chemicals has been bad, so much stuff was chased overseas in previous years. Now there's no domestic production at all. Today you always ask where, when vendors say they have material in stock that it's not in Mumbai, Europe, or Guangdong.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

This was pointed out on another forum:

Record shattered: 73 container ships stuck waiting off California

Supply chain crisis deepens as more imports snared in historic ship queue off Los Angeles/Long Beach.

www.freightwaves.com

Summary: Ports are a major chokepoint. Ships are stacked up waiting to unload. When it's their turn to unload it's taking days longer to unload then it used to.

Obviously ships that are idle for much longer are out of the rotation to transport goods for much longer, so this is effectively the same as sinking a bunch of the commercial fleet.

Also, shipping companies go where they make more money. They don't make as much money if their ships are idle. So, they stop taking contracts to ports that waste their time, like CA.

A shortage of experienced dockhands then creates a huge ripple throughout the supply chain due to that spiral.

 

[ditcherman]

This was pointed out on another forum:

Record shattered: 73 container ships stuck waiting off California

Supply chain crisis deepens as more imports snared in historic ship queue off Los Angeles/Long Beach.

www.freightwaves.com

Summary: Ports are a major chokepoint. Ships are stacked up waiting to unload. When it's their turn to unload it's taking days longer to unload then it used to.

Obviously ships that are idle for much longer are out of the rotation to transport goods for much longer, so this is effectively the same as sinking a bunch of the commercial fleet.

Also, shipping companies go where they make more money. They don't make as much money if their ships are idle. So, they stop taking contracts to ports that waste their time, like CA.

A shortage of experienced dockhands then creates a huge ripple throughout the supply chain due to that spiral.

Is this all due to shortage of experienced dockhands? Been wondering that for a while.

 

[ditcherman]

We are. This was simply evidence gathering. If people respond they are just engaged in hyperbole, he's right. If people say they believe what they are saying in a literal sense then I was right. If I don't ask, then how are we to know?

I knew it was entrapment! You sir, are an expert!

apply purple as needed

 

[bwframe]

Make you wonder why so many pulling the strings with lockdowns, mandates and fear tactics could not see this coming? Yet is was quite obvious to those with supply chain understanding? Why have we fallen for all of this?

Global supply-chain effects of COVID-19 control measures - Nature Human Behaviour

Guan et al. analyse the impacts of COVID-19 restrictions on global supply chains. Earlier, stricter and shorter lockdowns can minimize overall losses. A ‘go-slow’ approach to lifting restrictions may reduce overall damages if it avoids the need for further lockdowns.

www.nature.com

How COVID-19 impacted supply chains and what comes next

Research shows severe disruption through the pandemic is driving enterprises to make their supply chains more resilient, collaborative and networked.

www.ey.com

The Global Impact Of COVID-19 Lockdowns To Supply Chains in 2020 Yet to Be…

While global supply chain managers are still dealing with new Pandemic…

www.scmr.com

 

[firecadet613]

Is this all due to shortage of experienced dockhands? Been wondering that for a while.

The ports are full. There is a lack of chassis to move the containers from the port and rail delays on top of that. Can't unload a ship if they are out of room to put the containers...

They are quickly expanding hours to 24/7 pickup....and my guess is they will be 24/7 soon!