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奥密克戎叠加极端天气,美国人“买菜难”

奥密克戎叠加极端天气,美国人“买菜难”

Dee-Ann Durbin, Parker Purifoy, 美联社 2022-01-16
美国之所以出现食品短缺,主要是因为新冠疫情的影响从未减弱,而且奥密克戎变种毒株又进一步加剧了新冠疫情的影响。

1月11日,美国华盛顿州的居民本杰明·怀特利来到当地的一家西夫韦(Safeway)超市买菜,但他失望地发现,生鲜区的货架上空荡荡的,只有很少的鸡肉、火鸡以及牛奶可供选择。

“貌似我错过了一切,我现在得想方设法到处买菜了。”67岁的怀特利说。

最近几周,由于奥密克戎变种毒株的流行,加上北美地区出现极端天气,美国零售企业面临的供应链和劳动力短缺问题愈发严重,导致菜市场货品短缺现象进一步加剧。

这一波短缺的涉及范围很广,从农副产品和肉类到麦片等包装食品的供给都受到了影响。一般来说,美国菜市场任意时段的商品缺货率都在5%到10%之间。不过据美国消费品牌协会(Consumer Brands Association)的会长及首席执行官杰夫·弗里曼表示,目前美国菜市场的缺货率已经上升至15%左右。

美国之所以出现食品短缺,首先是因为新冠疫情的影响从未减弱,而且奥密克戎变种毒株又进一步加剧了新冠疫情的影响。目前美国人在家吃饭的次数要远远多于新冠疫情爆发前,特别是在很多企业和学校仍然关闭的情况下。

根据来自农副产品贸易协会FMI的数据,2021年美国普通家庭购买主副食的支出平均为每周144美元,较2020年161美元的最高点有所下降,但仍然远高于2019年的113.5美元。

另外一个原因是货车司机的短缺,这个问题从新冠疫情爆发前就已经显现。2021年10月,美国卡车运输协会(American Trucking Associations)曾经表示,美国的货车司机缺口已达8万人,创下了历史新高。

由于物流存在延迟,几乎所有商品的运输都受到了影响,包括进口食品和在海外印刷的食品包装。

从2020年年初开始,美国的零售和食品生产企业一直在努力试应这些“新常态”。在2020年美国的新冠疫情刚刚爆发的时候,老百姓的恐慌性抢购一度让美国的食品和零售体系陷入极大混乱。在吸取了教训之后,很多零售企业都加大了厕纸等商品的库存,以避免再度出现严重短缺。

行业组织美国零售行业领导者协会(Retail Industry Leaders Association)的供应链副总裁杰西卡·丹科特指出:“现在,供应链体系里的所有参与者都有了自己的应急预案,能够应对一些最基本的挑战。”

通常来说,这套体系是有效的。丹科特表示,在过去20个月里,美国的超市和菜市场极少会出现无菜可买的现象,只是近来的一些新问题推高了挑战水平。

奥密克戎变种毒株不仅给医院、企业和学校带来了严峻挑战,也给农副产品生产企业造成了很大冲击。美国康尼格拉食品公司(Conagra Brands)的总裁及首席执行官肖恩·康诺利在上周对投资者表示,受到奥密克戎变种毒株的影响,该公司的生产线出现大量减员,因此该公司美国工厂的产能不足问题将至少持续至下个月。

员工染疫问题也给菜市场造成了严重影响。Stew Leonard's是一家在康涅狄格州、纽约州和新泽西州都有门店的连锁超市。该公司的总裁及首席执行官小斯图·莱纳德表示,他的公司有200多名员工。一般情况下,员工的请假率大约在2%左右。但上周却有8%的员工要么请了病假,要么正在隔离。

该公司的超市里有一家面包店,由于太多员工请假,他们只得暂时下架一些热门产品,比如一款很受欢迎的苹果面包屑蛋糕。莱纳德还表示,有肉类和农产品供应商对他说,他们也遭遇了奥密克戎变种病毒导致的人工短缺问题。

不过莱纳德称,他一般都可以准时收到供应商送来的货品,而且他认为新冠疫情最严重的时候已经过去了。

产品短缺的另外一个原因是近期极端天气频发,比如美国东北地区的暴雪和科罗拉多州的山火。极端天气也促使一些消费者比往常更多地囤积商品,从而加剧了新冠疫情造成的供应问题。

Mom 's Organic Market是一家独立食品商超,在美国中大西洋地区设有多家门店。该公司的发言人丽萨·德利玛表示,受到严冬天气的影响,宾夕法尼亚州到华盛顿的公路运输中断,导致上周该公司的农副产品一度没有了库存。

不过德利玛指出,这个问题现在已经解决了。在她看来,消费者目前看到的某些产品的暂时性短缺,与2020年新冠疫情刚爆发时的相当长一段时间的短缺相比,根本不算什么。

她说:“大家根本没有必要进行恐慌性抢购。商品供给还是很充分的,只不过现在从A点到B点的运输时间要长一些而已。”

至于买菜难的问题何时能够得到解决,专家们对此意见不一。

丹科特认为,目前的买菜难现象是暂时的,美国将很快恢复到更正常的模式,尽管供应链和劳动短缺问题仍将继续存在。

“产品短缺现象不会长期持续下去,这只是偶发的、孤立的事件,供应链很快就会跟上。”她说。

而其他一些专家就没有这么乐观了。

美国消费品牌协会的会长弗里曼认为,随着奥密克戎变种毒株入侵美国中西部地区,在该地区有大量业务的家乐氏(Kellogg Co.)和通用磨坊(General Mills Inc.)等大型包装食品公司必将受到影响,因此,奥密克戎变种毒株对食品行业的冲击或将进一步扩大。

弗里曼认为,美国联邦政府应该拿出有效措施,确保基本食品行业工人可以获得核酸检测。他还希望政府围绕食品工人的隔离程序和疫苗接种出台统一规定。因为现在各地对新冠疫情防控各行其政,给企业带来很大困扰。

“我认为,就像之前几波疫情一样,奥密克戎疫情也会逐步减弱。但问题是,我们是要被动地任凭疫情摆布,还是我们应该主动生产足够的检测试剂?”

食品行业协会FMI负责行业关系的副总裁道格·贝克表示,从长远来看,随着新冠疫情逐步消退,主副食企业可能还需要一段时间,才能够适应消费者新的采购模式。

“食品行业原本实行的是零库存机制,但现在我们要适应的是空前波动的需求水平。而未来几年,我们还要继续适应这种新的库存体系。”他说。

最后,华盛顿西夫韦超市的顾客怀特利感慨道,他很幸运自己已经退休了,因为就算他去的第一家超市已经没货了,他还可以花一整天的时间到别家买菜。而那些必须上班或者必须照顾生病的亲人的人,则没有这种奢侈的余裕。

“有些人买菜是为了活着,而我只是想做一顿好饭。”他说。(财富中文网)

译者:朴成奎

1月11日,美国华盛顿州的居民本杰明·怀特利来到当地的一家西夫韦(Safeway)超市买菜,但他失望地发现,生鲜区的货架上空荡荡的,只有很少的鸡肉、火鸡以及牛奶可供选择。

“貌似我错过了一切,我现在得想方设法到处买菜了。”67岁的怀特利说。

最近几周,由于奥密克戎变种毒株的流行,加上北美地区出现极端天气,美国零售企业面临的供应链和劳动力短缺问题愈发严重,导致菜市场货品短缺现象进一步加剧。

这一波短缺的涉及范围很广,从农副产品和肉类到麦片等包装食品的供给都受到了影响。一般来说,美国菜市场任意时段的商品缺货率都在5%到10%之间。不过据美国消费品牌协会(Consumer Brands Association)的会长及首席执行官杰夫·弗里曼表示,目前美国菜市场的缺货率已经上升至15%左右。

美国之所以出现食品短缺,首先是因为新冠疫情的影响从未减弱,而且奥密克戎变种毒株又进一步加剧了新冠疫情的影响。目前美国人在家吃饭的次数要远远多于新冠疫情爆发前,特别是在很多企业和学校仍然关闭的情况下。

根据来自农副产品贸易协会FMI的数据,2021年美国普通家庭购买主副食的支出平均为每周144美元,较2020年161美元的最高点有所下降,但仍然远高于2019年的113.5美元。

另外一个原因是货车司机的短缺,这个问题从新冠疫情爆发前就已经显现。2021年10月,美国卡车运输协会(American Trucking Associations)曾经表示,美国的货车司机缺口已达8万人,创下了历史新高。

由于物流存在延迟,几乎所有商品的运输都受到了影响,包括进口食品和在海外印刷的食品包装。

从2020年年初开始,美国的零售和食品生产企业一直在努力试应这些“新常态”。在2020年美国的新冠疫情刚刚爆发的时候,老百姓的恐慌性抢购一度让美国的食品和零售体系陷入极大混乱。在吸取了教训之后,很多零售企业都加大了厕纸等商品的库存,以避免再度出现严重短缺。

行业组织美国零售行业领导者协会(Retail Industry Leaders Association)的供应链副总裁杰西卡·丹科特指出:“现在,供应链体系里的所有参与者都有了自己的应急预案,能够应对一些最基本的挑战。”

通常来说,这套体系是有效的。丹科特表示,在过去20个月里,美国的超市和菜市场极少会出现无菜可买的现象,只是近来的一些新问题推高了挑战水平。

奥密克戎变种毒株不仅给医院、企业和学校带来了严峻挑战,也给农副产品生产企业造成了很大冲击。美国康尼格拉食品公司(Conagra Brands)的总裁及首席执行官肖恩·康诺利在上周对投资者表示,受到奥密克戎变种毒株的影响,该公司的生产线出现大量减员,因此该公司美国工厂的产能不足问题将至少持续至下个月。

员工染疫问题也给菜市场造成了严重影响。Stew Leonard's是一家在康涅狄格州、纽约州和新泽西州都有门店的连锁超市。该公司的总裁及首席执行官小斯图·莱纳德表示,他的公司有200多名员工。一般情况下,员工的请假率大约在2%左右。但上周却有8%的员工要么请了病假,要么正在隔离。

该公司的超市里有一家面包店,由于太多员工请假,他们只得暂时下架一些热门产品,比如一款很受欢迎的苹果面包屑蛋糕。莱纳德还表示,有肉类和农产品供应商对他说,他们也遭遇了奥密克戎变种病毒导致的人工短缺问题。

不过莱纳德称,他一般都可以准时收到供应商送来的货品,而且他认为新冠疫情最严重的时候已经过去了。

产品短缺的另外一个原因是近期极端天气频发,比如美国东北地区的暴雪和科罗拉多州的山火。极端天气也促使一些消费者比往常更多地囤积商品,从而加剧了新冠疫情造成的供应问题。

Mom 's Organic Market是一家独立食品商超,在美国中大西洋地区设有多家门店。该公司的发言人丽萨·德利玛表示,受到严冬天气的影响,宾夕法尼亚州到华盛顿的公路运输中断,导致上周该公司的农副产品一度没有了库存。

不过德利玛指出,这个问题现在已经解决了。在她看来,消费者目前看到的某些产品的暂时性短缺,与2020年新冠疫情刚爆发时的相当长一段时间的短缺相比,根本不算什么。

她说:“大家根本没有必要进行恐慌性抢购。商品供给还是很充分的,只不过现在从A点到B点的运输时间要长一些而已。”

至于买菜难的问题何时能够得到解决,专家们对此意见不一。

丹科特认为,目前的买菜难现象是暂时的,美国将很快恢复到更正常的模式,尽管供应链和劳动短缺问题仍将继续存在。

“产品短缺现象不会长期持续下去,这只是偶发的、孤立的事件,供应链很快就会跟上。”她说。

而其他一些专家就没有这么乐观了。

美国消费品牌协会的会长弗里曼认为,随着奥密克戎变种毒株入侵美国中西部地区,在该地区有大量业务的家乐氏(Kellogg Co.)和通用磨坊(General Mills Inc.)等大型包装食品公司必将受到影响,因此,奥密克戎变种毒株对食品行业的冲击或将进一步扩大。

弗里曼认为,美国联邦政府应该拿出有效措施,确保基本食品行业工人可以获得核酸检测。他还希望政府围绕食品工人的隔离程序和疫苗接种出台统一规定。因为现在各地对新冠疫情防控各行其政,给企业带来很大困扰。

“我认为,就像之前几波疫情一样,奥密克戎疫情也会逐步减弱。但问题是,我们是要被动地任凭疫情摆布,还是我们应该主动生产足够的检测试剂?”

食品行业协会FMI负责行业关系的副总裁道格·贝克表示,从长远来看,随着新冠疫情逐步消退,主副食企业可能还需要一段时间,才能够适应消费者新的采购模式。

“食品行业原本实行的是零库存机制,但现在我们要适应的是空前波动的需求水平。而未来几年,我们还要继续适应这种新的库存体系。”他说。

最后,华盛顿西夫韦超市的顾客怀特利感慨道,他很幸运自己已经退休了,因为就算他去的第一家超市已经没货了,他还可以花一整天的时间到别家买菜。而那些必须上班或者必须照顾生病的亲人的人,则没有这种奢侈的余裕。

“有些人买菜是为了活着,而我只是想做一顿好饭。”他说。(财富中文网)

译者:朴成奎

Benjamin Whitely headed to a Safeway supermarket in Washington D.C. on January 11 to grab some items for dinner. But he was disappointed to find the vegetable bins barren and a sparse selection of turkey, chicken and milk.

“Seems like I missed out on everything,” Whitely, 67, said. “I’m going to have to hunt around for stuff now.”

Shortages at U.S. grocery stores have grown more acute in recent weeks as new problems — like the fast-spreading omicron variant and severe weather — have piled on to the supply chain struggles and labor shortages that have plagued retailers since the coronavirus pandemic began.

The shortages are widespread, impacting produce and meat as well as packaged goods such as cereal. And they’re being reported nationwide. U.S. groceries typically have 5% to 10% of their items out of stock at any given time; right now, that unavailability rate is hovering around 15%, according to Consumer Brands Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman.

Part of the scarcity consumers are seeing on store shelves is due to pandemic trends that never abated - and are exacerbated by omicron. Americans are eating at home more than they used to, especially since offices and some schools remain closed.

The average U.S. household spent $144 per week at the grocery in 2021, according to FMI, a trade organization for groceries and food producers. That was down from the peak of $161 in 2020, but still far above the $113.50 that households spent in 2019.

A deficit of truck drivers that started building before the pandemic also remains a problem. The American Trucking Associations said in October that the U.S. was short an estimated 80,000 drivers, a historic high.

And shipping remains delayed, impacting everything from imported foods to packaging that is printed overseas.

Retailers and food producers have been adjusting to those realities since early 2020, when panic buying at the start of the pandemic sent the industry into a tailspin. Many retailers are keeping more supplies of things like toilet paper on hand, for example, to avoid acute shortages.

“All of the players in the supply chain ecosystem have gotten to a point where they have that playbook and they’re able to navigate that baseline level of challenges,” said Jessica Dankert, vice president of supply chain at the Retail Industry Leaders Association, a trade group.

Generally, the system works; Dankert notes that bare shelves have been a rare phenomenon over the last 20 months. It's just that additional complications have stacked up on that baseline at the moment, she said.

As it has with staffing at hospitals, schools and offices, the omicron variant has taken a toll on food production lines. Sean Connolly, the president and CEO of Conagra Brands, which makes Birds Eye frozen vegetables, Slim Jim meat snacks and other products, told investors last week that supplies from the company's U.S. plants will be constrained for at least the next month due to omicron-related absences.

Worker illness is also impacting grocery stores. Stew Leonard Jr. is president and CEO of Stew Leonard's, a supermarket chain that operates stores in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. Last week, 8% of his workers - around 200 people - were either out sick or in quarantine. Usually, the level of absenteeism is more like 2%.

One store bakery had so many people out sick that it dropped some of its usual items, like apple crumb cake. Leonard says meat and produce suppliers have told him they are also dealing with omicron-related worker shortages.

Still, Leonard says he is generally getting shipments on time, and thinks the worst of the pandemic may already be over.

Weather-related events, from snowstorms in the Northeast to wildfires in Colorado, also have impacted product availability and caused some shoppers to stock up more than usual, exacerbating supply problems caused by the pandemic.

Lisa DeLima, a spokesperson for Mom’s Organic Market, an independent grocer with locations in the mid-Atlantic region, said the company's stores did not have produce to stock last weekend because winter weather halted trucks trying to get from Pennsylvania to Washington.

That bottleneck has since been resolved, DeLima said. In her view, the intermittent dearth of certain items shoppers see now are nothing compared to the more chronic shortages at the beginning of the pandemic.

“People don’t need to panic buy,” she said. “There’s plenty of product to be had. It’s just taking a little longer to get from point A to point B.”

Experts are divided on how long grocery shopping will sometimes feel like a scavenger hunt.

Dankert thinks this is a hiccup, and the country will soon settle back to more normal patterns, albeit with continuing supply chain headaches and labor shortages.

“You’re not going to see long-term outages of products, just sporadic, isolated incidents __ that window where it takes a minute for the supply chain to catch up,” she said.

But others aren’t so optimistic.

Freeman, of the Consumer Brands Association, says omicron-related disruptions could expand as the variant grips the Midwest, where many big packaged food companies like Kellogg Co. and General Mills Inc. have operations.

Freeman thinks the federal government should do a better job of ensuring that essential food workers get access to tests. He also wishes there were uniform rules for things like quarantining procedures for vaccinated workers; right now, he said, companies are dealing with a patchwork of local regulations.

“I think, as we’ve seen before, this eases as each wave eases. But the question is, do we have to be at the whims of the virus, or can we produce the amount of tests we need?” Freeman said.

In the longer term, it could take groceries and food companies a while to figure out the customer buying patterns that emerge as the pandemic ebbs, said Doug Baker, vice president of industry relations for food industry association FMI.

“We went from a just-in-time inventory system to unprecedented demand on top of unprecedented demand," he said. “We’re going to be playing with that whole inventory system for several years to come."

In the meantime, Whitely, the Safeway customer in Washington, said he’s lucky he’s retired because he can spend the day looking for produce if the first stores he tries are out. People who have to work or take care of sick loved ones don’t have that luxury, he said.

“Some are trying to get food to survive. I’m just trying to cook a casserole,” he said.

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