Scott Moses, Solomon Partners Head of Grocery, Pharmacy & Restaurants, joins Wealth! to break down how the port strike could impact your grocery shopping.
Moses notes that bananas, mangoes, sugar, cocoa, beer, wine, and liquor could all see price increases due to the port strike. While many grocery stores have been pre-buying many items in anticipation of a strike, most perishable groceries cannot be easily stocked. Thus, many items will have to be flown in rather than shipped, raising costs for consumers.
Some cargo has been rerouted to ports on the West Coast, which are not currently on strike. In addition, some supplies are being trucked over through Central America and Mexico before entering the United States, which Moses explains is “very expensive.”
He argues that if the strike persists for several weeks, “it will have a much more protracted impact and it will be far more painful for American grocers and American consumers who are just trying to find a way to save money on groceries.”
For consumers looking to save money on their grocery trips, he recommends price-checking between different grocers to get the best deals.
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This post was written by Melanie Riehl