Posted on 05/01/2020 5:40:13 AM PDT by blam
Just days after the CEO of Tyson Foods warned that the “food supply chain is breaking”, the disruptions due to the coronavirus are starting to surface not only in households and grocery stores, but also across corporate America, and even McDonald’s has now said it is changing how it is doling out beef and pork to its restaurants as a result.
The company has placed items like burgers, bacon and sausage on “controlled allocation,” according to Business Insider. Additionally, the company’s distribution centers have been placed on “managed supply”.
This means that the company is now going to be rationing meat supplies based on demand, instead of just ordering what the company thought was necessary. And while it doesn’t yet mean the company is facing shortages, it does suggest that even the largest US fast food restaurant believes further scrutiny of its inventory is warranted as the next may very well be shortages.
Two key McDonald’s suppliers are Smithfield and Tyson – names we have covered extensively (here and here) over the last month as they grapple with the coronavirus causing significant production bottlenecks. More than 5,000 factory workers have contracted the coronavirus, with at least 20 of those dying.
McDonald’s executives said mid-week that major production reductions were expected through “at least” the first half of May. McDonald’s CEO said on Thursday that the company, so far, had not had a supply chain break.
He also admitted, however, the state of the meat industry was “concerning” and that the company was “monitoring it, literally, hour by hour.”
Tyson chairman John Tyson said last weekend: “As pork, beef and chicken plants are being forced to close, even for short periods of time, millions of pounds of meat will disappear from the supply chain. As a result, there will be limited supply of our products available in grocery stores until we are able to reopen our facilities that are currently closed.”
(snip)
Really have to gin up the panic now.
“Really have to gin up the panic now.”
Yes. Why would Tyson bend over backwards to get the panic going? One would think that Tyson would contact Federal officials and talk with them about a supposed problem and get any problems corrected.
Now, meat shelves will become as barren as toilet tissue shelves.
Where’s the beef?
Corps all want liability waivers from POTUS. They are going to cause trouble until they get them.
Occam’s Razor: Tyson is a Democrat with deep ties to the Clinton Arkansas Machine.
Occam’s Razor II: McDonalds brass is probably worried about hoarding behavior by individual franchisees.
Well... there is always kangaroo...
Because their (seen or unseen) Chinese Owners say so.
States are beginning to open up … and the supply chain for food is breaking.
Makes no sense to me.
McDonalds is non-essential to me.
Went to Costco yesterday, No Chicken, Pork Cops, Steaks,....
Excellent point.
Same here.
agreed. plenty of other places to get bad sevice by employees with unbelievably bad attitudes that are borderline racists. Not to mention its not exactly heart healthy.
Well heck, I didn’t think they were using meat.
Over on the General Chat page there’s a thread about the price of filet mignon collapsing due to all of the restaurant closures.
Cognitive Dissonance.
Demand has not changed, why is supply getting out of whack?
Too bad for these punks is that DPA is now in effect! There are now severe penalties in place for any shenanigans they try to pull. I hope I get called up as there are many scores to settle!
it makes perfect sense if you want it broke.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.