The Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020

We all remember the crazed hunt for toilet paper back in March. Long lines, empty shelves, people fighting over toilet paper. Sure other things have had supply chain issues at one point or another. Rice and dried beans for a while. Flour was hard to find as was yeast. Everybody and their brother stuck at home a killing time trying to learn how to make sourdough bread.

For a couple of months, hand sanitizer and surgical masks were impossible to find. But now they’re back in stores at five to ten times the price of what they were last winter. Somebody is making huge profits.

Still not an N95 mask to be had. Imagine the price when they start to become available. And don’t even ask about half-mask respirators.

But toilet paper is in a class of its own. For a few weeks, none was to be had anywhere. Then it came back. Then it was gone again. Then back again. Today, gone again at my local grocery store:

And when it is available, it’s some brand I’ve never heard of. Rocio??? I’m not picky, just curious. Have big-name brands like Scott vanished everywhere, or just around here? Almost four months into the coronapocalypse, why is TP one of the few supply chain issues distributors are still having problems with?