Hoarding a 'knee-jerk' reaction amid shortages: expert

Devastation in B.C. felt in Canada's supply chain The devastation in British Columbia is reverberating across Canada. CTV's Josh Crabb reports on the problems in a clogged supply chain.

EDMONTON — Consumers are being reminded to exercise some patience over the next few months as retailers navigate ongoing supply chain shortages.

Heather Thomson, a retail expert, said the issue isn’t unique to just B.C. and Alberta as the supply crunch is being felt around the globe.

Recently, up to 75 per cent of ports have a backlog of up to three weeks, Thomson told CTV News Edmonton.

“When we look at what’s happening with our shelves at the grocery store, for example, we’re starting to see a lot of things empty out,” she said. “We saw it in the Okanagan first and now it’s trickling its way into Alberta.”

“Supply chains will re-establish relatively quickly but people are panicking and that’s just making it even worse.”

Thomson described the hoarding as a “knee jerk” reaction to possibly not having access to certain supplies.

Supply chain shortages have been going on for a few months already, but Thomson said it’s just “exacerbated” by the B.C. floods..

“It just added more pressure to an already delicate situation,” she added.

“How we get it to the various areas within the country is going to be tricky and that’s with the roads not being washed out.”

Another issue, Thomson said, is that some big box retailers have the ability to hire their own shipping containers to deliver products whereas it’s not an option for some small and medium businesses.

“We like to hoard and so do retailers.”

With files from CTV News Emdonton’s Carlyle Fiset