Empty shelves have become a common sight across America since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the start of 2022, Reuters reported that US retailers faced "out of stock" levels of 12%, and now a host of factors, ranging from the Russian-Ukraine war to the ongoing chip shortage, are compounding global supply chain issues.
Read on as we take a look at the vital products Americans are running out of and find out why they're so hard to come by.
Prompting many people to take to social media with the trending hashtag #tamponshortage, America is currently experiencing a lack of sanitary products. According to the BBC, this is because the war in Ukraine is increasing the cost of raw materials, exacerbating supply chain issues and labor shortages that were caused by the pandemic.
Proctor & Gamble, which owns the brand Tampax, has described the problem as a "temporary situation" and says it's working around the clock to meet demand. But with pharmacy stores from Walgreens to CVS all struggling to fill their shelves, Americans all over the country are being left to find alternative solutions.
Sriracha hot chilli sauce, which is manufactured by Huy Fong Foods Inc, will be in short supply for the foreseeable future. The company confirmed in a letter that "there is an unprecedented shortage of our products... caused by several spiralling events, including unexpected crop failure from the spring chilli harvest."
Huy Fong Foods sources its peppers from Mexico, New Mexico, and California, all of which have been affected by the "severe" droughts. To combat the shortage, some restaurants have announced that they will no longer offer the sauce for free, according to The Weekly Times.
Ukraine is the world's top producer of sunflower oil, accounting for around 47% of the annual global supply. But the country's exports have been devastated by the Russian invasion, which has seen troops block key ports and attack agricultural equipment.
And this isn't only damaging to Ukraine's economy. It's also had a knock-on effect that has resulted in product shortages around the world, with manufacturers struggling to adapt the recipes of everything from potato chips to biofuel.
With stocks of sunflower oil depleted, many people are switching to alternatives like palm and rapeseed oil. This in turn has caused the demand to soar, leading to a widespread shortage of cooking oils in America and beyond. According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), the US principally uses soybean and canola oils, with the two dominating its 2021 oil imports of 4.47 million metric tons per day.
Researchers at JPMorgan predicted in April that the country could see "extreme uncertainty and elevated prices" in the oil market "for at least over the next 12 to 18 months, possibly longer given the duration of conflict in Ukraine".
And it's not just soybean oil that could be running dry. A national shortage of soybeans in general is affecting the availability of everything from soymilk to animal feed (more on that later).
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has predicted that the soybean crop across Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina – which account for most of America's soybean imports – is the lowest it's been since the 2018-2019 period.
The total harvest is down 18 million tons from last year, which has mainly been caused by severe droughts.
Meanwhile the demand for soy milk in the US is increasing, with the national market expected to reach over $14.5 billion by 2028. Certain kinds of soy milk have been suggested as an alternative to baby formula, which could see the demand spike more than expected this year.
And it's no better news for those who prefer other plant-based milks. According to a Michigan-based business resources firm, "plant-based [products] saw a huge rise in demand as animal meat processors were forced to shut down operations", which could cause shortages of dairy alternatives throughout the US.
One of the most series product shortages to shake America, stocks of baby formula have run dangerously low due to a "perfect storm" of supply issues, according to CNN.
The catalyst was the closure of a large Michigan-based production plant in February after Abbott Laboratories, America's biggest supplier of powdered baby formula, reported potential bacterial contamination. A recent report has found that three major US manufacturers, including Abbott, weren't properly inspected by regulators for two years over the coronavirus pandemic. To prevent a future shortage, lawmakers have introduced a bill that would require the manufacturers to be inspected every six months.
Low stock levels have been worsened by the global shortage of sunflower oil, which is a key ingredient in certain types of formulas. Information from Datasembly in mid-May showed that stocks of baby formula were down by over 50% in eight states, leaving panicked parents struggling to feed their children.
To mitigate the crisis, which some people have described as a "public health emergency", lawmakers have introduced a bill called the Urgently Feeding America's Babies Act. This classifies baby formula as "a scarce and critical material", allowing America to import more products from Europe.
On 22 May, 78,000 pounds (39 tons) of baby formula arrived in Indianapolis, the first of a series of deliveries that will hopefully relieve the shortage. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also announced that it expects to receive two million cans of baby formula from the UK in June. In addition to this, the UK-based baby milk brand Kendamil also plans to ship 100 truckloads of its products to America over the next six months.
Major US meat companies including JBS and Tyson Foods have previously come under fire for overstating the risk of product shortages during the pandemic.
According to an investigation that was published in May this year, the firms lobbied the US government for a special dispensation to remain open at the height of COVID-19, despite the danger it posed to workers.
Now, American meat shortages are a very real risk due to factors such as the soybean shortage and the conflict in Ukraine.
With Ukraine a key exporter of grains and seeds, supply chain issues caused by the war have caused global stock levels to plummet.
This has meant the cost of animal feed has skyrocketed, leaving many farmers unable to buy enough for their livestock. Feed accounts for up to 75% of the cost of raising animals, according to data from Feed Strategy, meaning that rising prices can be difficult to absorb.
Add to this a recent outbreak of bird flu, and it's easy to see why America's largest sandwich chain Subway has reported shortages of turkey, beef, and ham.
How do you like your eggs in the morning? You might not have much choice soon, with the breakfast favorite becoming increasingly hard to get hold of.
A study carried out by SurveyMonkey earlier this year found that more than 50% of shoppers have noticed a shortage of meat or eggs in their local grocery store, and prices are rocketing as a result.
According to data published by CBS, for example, Grade A large eggs were 73% more expensive in May 2022 than they were in May 2021. Overall, the price of eggs has increased by 36.2% over the last year, Business Insider reported in June.
A strain of bird flu that was first detected on a turkey farm in Indiana had spread to at least 17 states by April 2022, resulting in the culling of over 20 million chickens.
With fewer birds available, supermarkets have seen a severe shortage of both chicken and eggs, both of which were already in reduced supply due to COVID-19.
At the start of the year, President Biden said that he would pledge $1 billion to expand capacity in the American meat and poultry sector after labor shortages left the industry struggling to fulfill demand.
According to Senator Robert Marshall, America is seeing one of its worst wheat crops in history, with just 30% of its output classified as "good to excellent". As well as battling domestic droughts, the US is also experiencing the knock-on effects of the Russian war in Ukraine.
Ukraine is the eighth-largest producer and sixth-largest exporter of wheat globally, supplying 10% of total exports.
With the country's agriculture sector under threat and many of its key ports blocked, world leaders have warned that millions of people around the world could now face famine. A Yale historian, Timothy Snyder, has claimed this is precisely Putin's plan, as he uses the threat of food insecurity as "hunger politics".
Global wheat shortages could prove catastrophic in some of the world's most impoverished nations. Across the US, households that are already feeling the pinch of inflation could struggle to find affordable basics, including bread and cereals.
Supply chain issues were already prevalent due to the pandemic. One example is food manufacturing giant Kellogg's, which warned last year that shoppers might see shortages of its products, including the likes of Frosted Flakes and Eggo waffles, well into 2022 due to disruption caused to its 50-plus factories around the world.
The company's CEO Steve Cahillane said that contributing factors included lockdowns in Malaysia, civil unrest in South Africa, and an international shortage of truck drivers and shipping pallets.
With fresh foods such as meat, bread, and eggs all in short supply, you might think that canned goods are a practical alternative.
But think again: a global shortage of aluminum is making it hard for people to stock up on long-life food. According to the Financial Post, aluminum prices in London reached a 13-year high in February, while concerns about supply disruptions in Europe and China have also fueled price increases in the US.
Data from Market Realist suggests that aluminum prices could rise by up to 10% this year.
The issue has been further compounded by US sanctions against Russia, which means major Russian aluminum manufacturers such as Rusal – the second-largest aluminum producer in the world – are no longer viable supplies.
That said, Tesla came under fire earlier this year when it was revealed the automaker had continued to source its aluminum from Rusal despite CEO Elon Musk's public support of Ukraine.
After water, sand is the world’s most used raw material. As well as being the most important ingredient in infrastructures such as roads, bridges, and high-speed trains, it also features in every window, computer screen, and smartphone.
But sand, which currently makes up 85% of the world's mineral extraction, is typically dredged from rivers at huge environmental costs – and the world's supply is rapidly running out.
On a global level, between 40 to 50 billion tons of sand are used in the building industry every year, and demand for the material has recently soared in another sector, too. With oil prices reaching record levels, the US has tried to increase its production through fracking, a process that requires a huge amount of so-called "frack sand".
It's been predicted that Vietnam could run out of sand as early as this year, while the rest of the world could reach the same point by 2050, according to data from Earth.org.
A widespread chlorine shortage has been affecting America since August 2020, when Hurricane Laura destroyed a major chlorine tablet manufacturer in Louisiana.
Some pool supply stores have imposed restrictions on how much of the chemical customers can buy, while others have seen the price of chlorine tablets double as demand has soared.
The situation has been further worsened by large numbers of Americans installing their own swimming pools during the pandemic.
This has made it even harder to get hold of the required sanitary equipment, which is a trend that many experts have predicted will continue throughout the rest of 2022.
Now discover which once-beloved American chains are being forced to close