Companies shut down, not dearth of truckers, causing empty shelves: manager

Shelves of bottled juices of all types were seen depleted at several of Rochester's supermarkets. (Rochester Voice photos)

ROCHESTER - Anyone shopping at any of the five major supermarkets in Rochester knows that supply chain issues are causing gaping holes - literally - in some grocery aisles, but one mid-level manager told The Rochester Voice it is not due to lack of truckers, it's because plants are closed due to a lack of personnel to put out the product.

"Some plants are shut some, more to staffing needs," they said on Thursday. "The companies are not able to get the product in; some companies are struggling," said the mid-level manager, who did not want their name used since they are not authorized to speak publicly per corporate policy.

Asked if they thought consumers might be hoarding as they did toilet paper when the COVID pandemic first ramped up, they said no, it's more of a staffing issue.

Bottled water, bottled juices and specialty foods seem to have been hit the hardest, while dairy, meat and produce seem to be less affected.

The supply chain crisis has been blamed on pent-up demand, COVID infections and energy woes in China, but could also be due to vaccinations being required at many large companies, such as Southwest, which recently buckled under employee pressure to step back from requiring vaccinations or be placed on unpaid leave, which put many jets back in the air.

Cases of water were still available but many shelves were mostly bare at one of Rochester's supermarket on Wednesday.

Asked if there was any end in sight to the shortages at Rochester's supermarkets, the person we spoke to said it's anybody's guess.

Public information officers at Hannaford, Market Basket and Walmart were all unavailable for comment on Thursday.