erm no.. that doesn't even make sense The reason everybody is panic buying toilet paper, is because they read the stories and they see the empty shelves in the

erm no.. that doesn't even make sense The reason everybody is panic buying toilet paper, is because they read the stories and they see the empty shelves in the shops. So they then maybe grab the odd extra pack when they see stock - and the cycle continues until all domestic storage space is exhausted (or full shelves are seen again). Toilet paper is especially susceptible to this as it's cheap, has a supply chain designed for constant/continuous/even demand - and is bulky so tends to be produced relatively close to where it's consumed, magnifying these effects. Or in summary, you don't know what the future holds - but you know you're going to be ploughing through that decreasing pile of rolls in the cupboard. So in a capitalist market, why wouldn't they just make more and run the factory 24x7 (like say an RNA test or respirator maker)? Well because the actual consumption is a flat line. Sure, you could pay new workers to man the new night-shift - but then in a month or two you'd have to lay off both shifts, as we all work down our reserve and don't buy any TP.