A shortage of baby formula due to the shutdown of a key factory is worsening, causing borderline panic among some parents.
During the first half of 2021, the rate for being out of stock was 2% to 8%, CNN reported Monday, but from November 2021 to early April 2022, it went to 31%. Since then it has risen to 40%, CNN said.
The shortage is especially acute in Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Missouri, Texas and Tennessee, where more than half the supply was sold out during the week of April 24, retail tracking company Datasembly said in a statement at the time.
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And it appears that it will only get worse.
“Unfortunately, we don’t see this slowing down any time soon,” Datasembly CEO Ben Reich said Monday, according to NBC News. “Inflation, supply chain shortages and product recalls have continued to bring volatility to the category, and continues to be one of the most affected products in the market.”
Supplies were already suffering before manufacturer Abbott Labs recalled batches of Similac products made in Sturgis, Michigan, after two infants died.
“This issue has been compounded by supply chain issues, product recalls and historic inflation,” Datasembly CEO Ben Reich told CNN. “Unfortunately, given the unprecedented amount of volatility to the category, we anticipate baby formula to continue to be one of the most affected products in the market.”
Manufacturers have been hustling to pick up the slack, churning out supplies as fast as their facilities will allow, but some stores are having to limit purchases to avert stockpiling, USA Today reported. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is also trying to help.
“We are aware the recall has created new concerns about the availability of certain types of infant formula, particularly given the overall strains on supply chains experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the FDA said in a statement at the end of last month. “The FDA is working with Abbott Nutrition to better assess the impacts of the recall and understand the production capacity at other Abbott facilities that produce some of the impacted brands. We are also working with Abbott on safe resumption of production at the Sturgis, Michigan facility.”
