Toilet paper hoarding: not as good for TP companies as you'd think
Hands off the rolls... In this coronavirus-buying panic, we've focused plenty on sanitizing products like Clorox (now being held safely behind the CVS sales counter along with pricey whiskey and cigarettes). While hand sanitizer sales have surged 470%, the surprise star of panic-buying is... toilet paper. From convenience stores to grocery aisles, not a roll in sight.
- US TP sales last week surged 60% from the same time last year. Fear of not having any wipe-products is so bad that Americans are even getting on the bidet bandwagon.
- So Kimberly-Clark (maker of Scott and Cottonelle) and Procter & Gamble (Charmin) ramped up production to meet demand.
- Kim will "reallocate inventory" (aka, use paper pulp to make more toilet paper, fewer paper towels). TP > PT.
- Georgia Pacific has managed to ship out 20% more of its Angel Soft and Quilted Northern TP than its regular capacity. But the crazy demand is causing unnecessary strain on supply chains...
TP-makers are asking whyyy?... Drugs stores and groceries aren't shutting down. Toilet paper will always continue to be produced/shipped. Many TP-creating mills were already operating 24/7 before the pandemic — their capacity is fixed at "max." Producing TP is pretty easy, but it takes time to get it shipped to warehouses/retailers and then onto shelves.
A surge in demand isn't necessarily good... The TP-pocalypse may raise sales in the short-term, but:
- No one is suddenly using/needing all that much more toilet paper — unlike with sanitizing products. Long-term demand for TP is unchanged.
- Hoarders probably won't be restocking for another 4 months (if not more) — so TP companies might lose sales later on because of front-loaded buying now.