The Real Reason Paper Towels Run Out Again

 

Around the corner, walk into the stationery aisle of your favorite store and maybe get a taste of déjà vu. "Wait, is it March?" You may be wondering. "Why aren't there any paper towels on the shelf?" Ultimately, you don't have any flashbacks or nightmares. In the months since the COVID-19 pandemic, paper towel makers are still struggling to keep up with demand.

Some of our shopping habits have returned to normal and many store shelves are being restocked. However, this is not the case with paper towels. Six months after a wave of panic buying that left stores with less paper products, detergents and even flour, companies like Georgia-Pacific and Proctor & Gamble are still struggling to produce enough paper towels to maintain their operations. We are checking out and you can order paper towels in bulk - USA Today has compiled a list of online outlets that currently sell paper towels. You can probably find your favorite brand or style there. CNN and the Wall Street Journal recently reported bottlenecks online and in physical stores.

It's been six months since home orders sparked the first wave of panic buying. Why isn't the paper towel factory adding extra shifts or increasing capacity? And why do we keep buying so many paper towels?

The paper towel factory was already at full capacity when the pandemic broke out.

First, the paper towel makers were already working 24/7 and at full capacity when the US pandemic peaked. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Sparkle Georgia-Pacific paper towel factory in Alabama was operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week when the pandemic hit their factory. The plant was not initially attacked by the virus itself. The factory was still weeks away from pandemic, and by the end of February the Sparkle plant started receiving unusually large orders from retailers, five to ten times more than usual.

Overall, sales of paper towels rose 150% in March, which means people who typically buy two rolls of paper towels a week bought five. (When you add in all the people who can't find paper towels, you'll find a lot of people are buying a lot more. The best that the Alabama facility can do is increase production by 25% by reducing the number of other various types of paper towels they produce, The Wall Street Journal says.

People are buying more and more paper towels.

Since the launch of paper towels in the spring, demand has been 25% higher than before the pandemic, according to the Wall Street Journal. In contrast, the demand for toilet paper returned to normal. Hoarders appear to have enough TP supplies to beat the pandemic so far. Demand for paper towels is high as people who fear the virus continue to clean the house more than usual and use paper towels instead of the rarer disinfectant wipes.

As for the paper towel company that is building another assembly line or a whole new factory, that can't be done in a matter of months. According to the Wall Street Journal, the main equipment used to make paper towels took years to manufacture. Furthermore, the paper towel business has such low-profit margins that it is unnecessary to build an entirely new factory, no matter how fast the factory grows. It won't be necessary and will not be wasted until people get used to buying regular paper towels again.

Manufacturers of everyday household items are now looking for ways to stay efficient while adding capacity that should meet growing demand during the crisis.