Expert: No Need to Panic Buy TP Due to Strike

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In light of the International Longshoremen’s Association strike, which began Tuesday, according to one expert, there’s no need to panic buy toilet paper.

“I think the problem that we’re going to have mainly will be because of people’s hoarding behavior … panic buying,” Arzum Akkas, an associate professor in the operations and information management department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said, according to The Hill.

I’m “not worried” about the longshoreman strike affecting the supply of toilet paper, she added, because most toilet paper is made locally and manufacturers have a “buffer inventory” or surplus of the stuff on hand.

According to CNN, 90% of toilet paper is made in the U.S. The rest typically comes from Mexico and Canada by way of truck. American Forest and Paper Association, a trade group representing paper manufacturers, said it was concerned however that the strike may impact exports, not imports.