Each Thanksgiving, Americans eat approximately 46 million turkeys, with almost 90% of Americans eating the traditional bird at the holiday meal. It takes a few months to grow those turkeys, and distributors and stores need to plan ahead, so up and down the supply chain there had to be guesses months ago about what the Thanksgiving holiday would look like. This was complicated by the delta variant and other factors related to the pandemic.
Potential shortages of turkeys and other traditional Thanksgiving food products have been reported. However, by most accounts there is no shortage of turkeys this year. Sources say that turkeys are out there but due to supply chain disruptions and labor shortages it might be more challenging and expensive to get one. The stock of turkeys under 16 pounds might be low if the demand for smaller birds is as high as last year, as predicted by experts.
Even with reports of shortages and supply chain issues, US consumers have evidently not been stockpiling turkeys and other Thanksgiving supplies. According to a survey conducted in October by morningconsult.com, a little over a third of the people surveyed said they planned to shop for their turkey and related groceries the week before the holiday. Perhaps others are deciding to outsource the meal, showing support for local restaurants, bakeries and grocery stores.
The US Department of Agriculture offered this perspective in a November 17 statement about Thanksgiving and turkeys: “This holiday season we have so many things to be thankful for, chief among them our farmers and producers who are putting the food on our plates and the ability to spend time with loved ones, which we could not do last year…The good news is that the top turkey producers in the country are confident that everyone who wants a bird for their Thanksgiving dinner will be able to get one, and a large one will only cost $1 dollar more than last year,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
While CJ Logistics might not have expertise in turkey production, we are experts in Food and CPG logistics. Our proactive and collaborative planning helps our customers through the important holiday season—and the rest of the year too. We are thankful for our important customer partnerships and for all the members of our team who make them so productive.
For more about CJ Logistics’ supply chain solutions, contact us.
