Could the Port Strike Cause a Toilet Paper Shortage?

Thousands of dockworkers have gone on strike at ports across the East and Gulf coasts over wages and the use of automation, potentially disrupting America’s supply of toilet paper.

Reports of toilet paper shortages surfaced on social media just a day after the strike began. A number of posts on TikTok and X show empty shelves and long lines as a result of people purchasing large amounts of household goods at retail stores like Costco and Target.

This behavior, also known as panic buying, presents the most immediate threat to the supply chain. But the port strike itself could also cause issues depending on how long it lasts, according to Ronalds Gonzalez, an associate professor in the Department of Forest Biomaterials at NC State.

“If it takes one or two weeks for the strike to end, there could be delays that affect raw materials used to produce toilet paper,” said Gonzalez, who monitors technological and sustainability developments in the toilet paper industry as co-director of the Tissue Pack Innovation Lab.

More specifically, the strike could delay shipments of the eucalyptus pulp used by Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, Georgia-Pacific and other toilet paper manufacturers across the United States.

While more than 99% of tissue products used by Americans are produced in the U.S., manufacturers rely heavily on eucalyptus pulp imported from Brazil. Eucalyptus pulp contains short fibers that make toilet paper soft and absorbent. The pulp is mixed with water to create a liquid sludge that is dried and flattened into sheets of paper.

American manufacturers produce billions of rolls of consumer-grade toilet paper each year — more than enough for shoppers, according to Gonzalez. But grocery stores and other retailers usually only keep several weeks’ worth of toilet paper in their warehouses, meaning sudden increases in demand can quickly deplete stocks.

“People need to calm down and stop buying more than what they need to allow inventories to remain stable,” Gonzalez said.

In a worst-case scenario where the port strike delays shipments of eucalyptus pulp to U.S. manufacturers, Gonzalez added that shoppers should be able to at least purchase commercial-grade toilet paper. Commercial-grade toilet paper is made from recycled paper that’s sourced domestically, though its supply chain isn’t immune to the effects of panic-buying either.