I just feel like we've been here before, folks:
As the East and Gulf Coast ports strike continues for a third day on Thursday, consumer fears over product shortages have led to panic buying along the East Coast and Gulf Coasts, with shoppers buying up toilet paper and other household items, leaving barren shelves in their wake.
Thankfully, the dock strike appears to have come to an end.
US dockworkers and port operators have reached a tentative agreement that will end a three-day strike that shut down shipping on the east and Gulf coasts of the United States - and had threatened to incur billions of dollars in losses.
In a joint statement on Thursday evening, the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the US Maritime Alliance, said they had 'reached a tentative agreement on wages', without providing any details on what was agreed upon.
The two sides also agreed to extend their master contract until January 15 of next year in order 'to return to the bargaining table' to negotiate other outstanding issues, they said.
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But that didn't stop people from scooping up consumer goods in full panic mode during the three days of the strike:
It all had the appearance of good old-fashioned hysteria. But was there even any underlying reason for it? Well, apparently, no:
The labor dispute isn't likely to impact toilet paper or many other supermarket products, such as meat and breakfast cereal, because they're largely produced domestically, Michigan State University professor Jason Miller told CBS News.
'This is where it's just very important for folks to understand this is a completely different situation than a worldwide pandemic that we didn't know what we were facing, you know, four and a half years ago,' Miller, a supply chain expert, said. 'There's no reason to panic because of this port strike. You know, things will be okay.'
Friends, some advice for the future: Calm down.
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