The latest product to be in short supply with skyrocketing costs is plastic.
Sure, we can cut back at home when there aren’t as many coffee beans. We can use glass when aluminum isn’t available. There are plenty of corn husks to take the place of toilet paper.
But good luck trying to get around a plastic shortage.
The cost of PVC has shot up 70% recently. And maybe you’re thinking, “I don’t need any new pipes”. Okay, but PVC, polyvinyl chloride, is also used to make credit cards and medical devices.
Epoxy resins, which are used to make paints and adhesives now cost 170% more than they did a couple months ago.
No one thing is to blame. This happened because of Covid, labor shortages, factory shut downs, higher oil prices, and hurricanes. Yep, Ida damaged refineries and chemical plants down south and plastics need oil. Oh yeah, you can also blame lighting that struck and shut down a plant in Louisiana.
Experts says this will probably continue into next year and maybe longer.