Turns out they were right - albeit a year later. Last year as the COVID-19 Pandemic began, consumers rushed to stores and depleted shelves and suppliers of all of the toilet paper they had - hoarding it in their homes as they prepared for a shortage that never happened.  While most stores did run low on toilet paper supplies, it was the hoarding that caused it and not some other factor related to the virus. Most were afraid that they wouldn't be able to obtain toilet paper at some point and that if they could - it would be expensive. Well, now, as COVID-numbers recede and things are starting to get back to normal, that predicted price increase is about to come to fruition.

Most major paper-product manufacturers have announced price hikes that are set to occur over the next month.   According to news sources, expected toilet paper prices are set to rise "in the range of mid-to-high single-digit percentages" with some as high as almost 16%.

And it's not just toilet paper that you can expect price increases on.  It's paper-products in general that are being affected - so along with toilet paper, look for paper toweling, napkins and feminine products to bring sticker shock as the summer rolls along.

What's behind the price increases?  A variety of different factors.  Primarily, the main problem is also the reason that lumber has gone sky-high:  there is a shortage of available wood imports due in part to pandemic-related causes.  While wood itself isn't in short supply, sawmill and logging operations have experienced a lack of employees (either due to illness, protocols, or a dirth of workers willing to get a job in the industry).  At the same time, the Canadian-border shutdown has affected wood supplies.  At the end of the day, paper is made from pulp and pulp is a wood product.

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Additionally, many paper-good manufacturers are also trying to recoup the money lost as they ramped up production last year to keep up with demand; and - if you remember - that demand was high as people hoarded toilet paper products, thinking that they wouldn't be able to get them at some point.

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