Due to the port strike, people are panic buying toilet paper again!

According to CNN, the shortage of toilet paper in stores across the United States has reminded people of the nightmare during the epidemic. But the shortage of toilet paper is not a direct result of the massive port strike on Tuesday. It is because of panic buying.

On Tuesday, social media was full of reports of shortages, and the shelves where toilet paper and paper towels should be placed were empty.

"They swept away the toilet paper at the local Walmart in Virginia. Toilet paper hoarding frenzy 2.0!" One person wrote in a post on X, attaching a photo of an empty shelf.

Another X user posted: "There is very little paper towel left on the shelves of Costco and Target in Monmouth County, New Jersey." "See people rushing to buy toilet paper and water in response to the port strike. Costco employees told me that they are out of toilet paper and paper towels this morning."

In fact, the port strike from Maine to Texas will not have any impact on the supply of these products.

The vast majority of toilet paper consumption in the United States (some estimate more than 90%) comes from domestic factories. Most of the rest comes from Canada and Mexico, which means it's most likely to be shipped by rail or truck, not ship.

The American Forest & Paper Association, a trade group representing paper manufacturers, expressed concern about the impact a port strike could have on its members. But it noted that a strike would cut off its exports to foreign markets, not its imports.

In any case, the strike is likely to result in a glut of toilet paper, not a shortage.

But that hasn't stopped people from rushing to stock up on fears of shortages, a herd mentality that stems from bad memories of shortages and restrictions during the 2020 pandemic.

Port strikes could cause some shortages, but mostly perishable goods that the U.S. market relies on imports. The No. 1 commodity is bananas.

Imports account for almost 100% of the U.S. banana supply, and as of early Tuesday morning, more than half of those imports were brought in through the affected ports, according to the U.S. Farm Bureau. One port in Wilmington, Delaware, alone imported more than a quarter of all bananas.

These bananas have a short shelf life. It takes only a few weeks from the time they're picked from the tree to when they appear on grocery store shelves, and less than two weeks before they turn brown or black on your kitchen counter. As a result, shippers were unable to move large volumes of cargo ahead of the strike.

Toilet paper is the opposite of a perishable commodity. Toilet paper stockpiled today can be saved until the next round of panic buying, even if that happens years from now. There is little to no toilet paper flowing through closed ports today.