空蕩蕩的貨架令人擔憂，但它們不會永遠持續(xù)下去

空蕩蕩的貨架令人擔憂，但它們不會永遠持續(xù)下去

At a Safeway in Washington, D.C., this week, 19-year-old Tala Jordan was having trouble checking items off her shopping list.

本周，在華盛頓特區(qū)的西夫韋超市，19歲的塔拉·喬丹在核對購物清單時遇到了麻煩。

Fresh meat: Nope. Milk: Nope. Eggs?

鮮肉:沒有。牛奶:沒有。雞蛋?

"I got liquid eggs instead," she said. "Had to compromise somehow."

“我用液體雞蛋代替，”她說。“不得不做出妥協(xié)。”

Jordan was shopping for a family of four — her sister, mom and grandmother. And like families across America, they saw others making a rush to buy goods and figured they should stock up as well.

喬丹在為一家四口購物——她的姐姐、媽媽和祖母。就像美國各地的家庭一樣，他們看到其他人都在爭先恐后地購買商品，覺得也應該囤貨。

Nielsen reported spikes in sales of medical supplies and nonperishable food earlier this month. And it predicted more pandemic-driven shopping as federal, state and local governments urge people to stay at home to avoid spreading the coronavirus.

尼爾森報告稱，本月早些時候醫(yī)療用品和不易腐壞食品的銷售出現(xiàn)激增。它還預測，隨著聯(lián)邦、州和地方政府敦促人們呆在家里以避免傳播這種冠狀病毒，將會有更多的受流行病驅(qū)動的購物。

Retailers assure shoppers they will stay open. Grocery stores provide a critical service to communities, and even in pandemic-struck Italy, where the entire country is under lockdown, grocery stores and pharmacies kept operating.

零售商向顧客保證他們將繼續(xù)營業(yè)。雜貨店為社區(qū)提供了至關重要的服務，即使是在遭受流行病襲擊的意大利，整個國家都處于封鎖狀態(tài)，雜貨店和藥店仍在營業(yè)。

But shortages of some high-demand items may continue for a while.

但一些高需求商品的短缺可能會持續(xù)一段時間。

UNFI, one of the largest food distributors in the United States, says some warehouses are running at 200% to 500% their average capacity at this time of year. It's like the weekend before Thanksgiving — day after day after day.

UNF是美國最大的食品經(jīng)銷商之一，他說，一些倉庫每年這個時候的平均產(chǎn)能是200%到500%。就像感恩節(jié)前的周末，日復一日。

Chris Testa, UNFI's president and chief marketing officer, says that in some cases, the suppliers just can't keep up. "There's only so many gallons of milk that can be produced, only so many eggs that can be produced," he says.

UNFI的總裁兼首席營銷官克里斯•泰斯塔表示，在某些情況下，供應商根本跟不上。“只有這么多加侖的牛奶可以生產(chǎn)，只有這么多雞蛋可以生產(chǎn)，”他說。

Even when supply exists, there can still be shortages.

即使有供應，仍然可能出現(xiàn)短缺。

Adnan Durrani has warehouses full of product. His company predicted this spike in demand.

阿德南·杜拉尼的倉庫里堆滿了產(chǎn)品。他的公司預測需求量會激增。

Still, it takes time for a distributor to pack a truck and send it to a store. "If they fill that store's backroom inventory, that may not be enough because that may sell out in one day or less," Durrani says. "And they're used to having inventories that last a week or two."

不過，分銷商包裝卡車并將其送到商店還是需要時間的。”杜拉尼說：“如果他們填滿了那家商店的庫存，那可能還不夠，因為這可能在一天或更短的時間內(nèi)就賣完了。”他們已經(jīng)習慣了一到兩周的庫存。”

That can mean empty shelves, at least temporarily. But retailers and producers can meet this challenge, he says, because America has strong supply chains.

這可能意味著貨架空空如也，至少暫時如此。但他說，零售商和生產(chǎn)商可以應對這一挑戰(zhàn)，因為美國有強大的供應鏈。

And at least for now, American food producers are not experiencing production troubles. The barren shelves are simply a reflection of the unusual increase in demand.

至少現(xiàn)在，美國食品生產(chǎn)商還沒有經(jīng)歷生產(chǎn)困難。這些空空的貨架只是需求不尋常增長的反映。

Testa says his company is working to recruit out-of-work warehouse workers and truckers from industries hit hard by the coronavirus to help meet the urgent need at distribution centers.

泰斯塔說，他的公司正在努力從受冠狀病毒嚴重打擊的行業(yè)招募失業(yè)的倉庫工人和卡車司機，以幫助滿足配送中心的緊急需求。

While shortages persist, retail trade groups are urging people not to buy more items than they would use in a couple of weeks — to give others a chance to meet their basic needs.

盡管短缺依然存在，但零售貿(mào)易組織敦促人們不要購買超過兩周使用量的商品，給其他人一個滿足基本需求的機會。

In addition, grocery shopping can mean braving crowds, exactly what everyone is supposed to avoid in order to fight this pandemic. Experts recommend attempting to shop at less-popular times of day. Some grocery stores also highlight their delivery options, while noting those services are barraged by orders and may experience delays.

此外，去雜貨店購物意味著要面對擁擠的人群，這正是每個人為了對抗這種流行病應該避免的。專家建議嘗試在一天中不太受歡迎的時間購物。一些雜貨店也強調(diào)他們的送貨選擇，同時指出這些服務受到訂單的限制，可能會遇到延誤。

Many stores are reducing their opening hours to allow more time to restock and clean, and a few have special hours when they're open just for seniors, who are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus.

許多商店正在減少營業(yè)時間，以便有更多的時間來補充庫存和打掃衛(wèi)生，還有一些商店專門為老年人開放營業(yè)，因為老年人特別容易感染冠狀病毒。