Sept. 27, 2021

Consumers apparently are beginning to stockpile toilet paper again.

Costco has started putting purchase limits on some products, including in Sioux Falls.

In an earnings call Thursday, chief financial officer Richard Galanti noted that limitations applied to “key items, like bath tissues, roll towels, Kirkland Signature water, high-demand cleaning-related SKUs related to the uptick in Delta-related demand.”

In response to a follow-up question from an analyst, Galanti said some shortages are related to transportation issues.

“What I do know is like everything right now, it’s all over the board. We’re talking — forget what cleaning supply it was, whether it was Clorox or Lysol or some type of antibacterial wipe or whatever it was. But there had been — a year ago, there was a shortage of merchandise.

“Now they’ve got plenty of merchandise, but there’s two- or three-week delays on getting it delivered because there’s a limit on short-term changes to trucking and delivery needs — the suppliers. So it really is all over the board.”

A notice was posted in late August on Costco’s website that temporary item limits were beginning at some warehouse on “select items.”

Find COVID-19 case numbers, other updates for September here