The AFBF said raw materials that go into other food products could also be affected, including soybeans, cocoa beans and sugarcane, but consumers are unlikely to be affected immediately. Furniture and other manufactured goods, particularly machinery such as farm equipment, vehicles and auto parts, could also be affected, the lobby group said.

Most everyday items like toilet paper, paper towels and toothpaste, however, are typically either manufactured domestically or shipped through ports in Canada, Mexico or the West Coast that are not affected by the strike, experts say.

“There is no reason for people to go out and do what we did during Covid and hoard,” Ellen said.

But pandemic-era panic buying remains a vivid memory, said Joseph Agresta, who directs the graduate program in supply chain analytics at Rutgers Business School. And rumors of impending shortages of essential goods are already circulating on social media, prompting reports of panic buying in some areas – an impulse Agresta calls an “overreaction.”

Social media users have been reaching out to each other for advice – sharing unconfirmed reports of long lines and shortages, messages to curb excessive concerns, or a mix of both. On TikTok, @tammytheblackprepper urged her followers to “save something for others.” The

Agresta repeated calls for caution. “There is no reason to panic,” he said, adding that many companies and freight companies had been preparing for the strike for months. Major retailers have already built up their inventories before the Christmas season.

Walmart, for example, has reassured customers that it is well positioned to maintain smooth operations. “We are preparing for unforeseen disruptions in our supply chain and maintaining additional supply sources to ensure we provide key products to our customers when and how they need them,” the company said in a statement this week.

Late last month, Costco executives also said they were ready. “Our buyers are excited,” CEO Ron Vachris said on the company’s most recent earnings call. “They are watching it closely and we have taken as many preventive measures as possible to prepare for it.”

For essential goods such as medicines, which are often sent by air, there are alternative shipping methods. Agresta advised consumers to consider similar products and local options if there are shortages of perishable goods, including fruits and vegetables.