Turbovsky, who lives in Fort Worth, Texas, had not been planning to go to the store, but when a co-worker told her she should stock up because there could be shortages and price increases, she decided to go.

Some consumers are panic-buying toilet paper and other goods amid the East Coast port strike, as they did during the COVID-19 outbreak. Do they need to?

Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, says there shouldn’t be any immediate impacts on the west coast. The strike does not involve dockworkers on the west coast but the impacts could be felt locally in terms of shipment volume and economic losses,