It's happening.

We told you last week that financial analysts were warning about a possible paper shortage. Well, now it appears to be hitting the Hudson Valley.

On Monday morning I was getting some items at the Stop and Shop on Route 9 in Poughkeepsie and was not prepared for what was waiting for me. After turning down the paper product aisle I was met with completely empty shelves. The store was entirely sold out of toilet paper, paper towels and other paper products. The photo below shows just how bare the aisle was.

Other shoppers were commenting about the shortage, wondering if things were going to get as bad as they were during the height of the pandemic.

For now, it appears that the shortage is just hitting some stores. Right across the street at Price Chopper there was plenty of toilet paper in stock. ShopRite in Poughkeepsie also appeared to have rolls of paper towels and toilet paper available to anyone who needed it.

Economists predict that the problem will get worse before it gets better.  Right now, stores that did not order paper products ahead of time have found themselves without shipments scheduled for this week. Supply chain issues have led to less than half of the products ordered actually reaching their destination. It's expected that other stores will also find themselves experiencing sporadic outages over the next few weeks.

If we've learned anything from being in this situation last year, it's that panic buying will only make the situation worse. Shoppers are being urged to only buy the paper products that they need and not hoard items. Some stores have even reintroduced limits on products to discourage panic buying.

Have you found paper products to be sold out in your local store? Let us know about it in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.

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