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I know an EE in the toilet paper manufacturing. The production rate wouldn't change in the time frame you want it to because it is impossible. You'd have to bri

I know an EE in the toilet paper manufacturing. The production rate wouldn't change in the time frame you want it to because it is impossible. You'd have to bring in new machines, set them up on the line (the rest of the line has to stop), and trouble shoot any issues - this reduces production in the short term. For any temporary price increase it just isn't going to happen. So, raising the price on TP does nothing to increase supply in a 1 month time frame and reduces availability to the poorest. Instead, reduce demand with a bidet and limit customer purchases.

asciident 6y ago
Do you think there would be any effect on the mindset of toilet paper manufacturers if they knew they could raise the price in a shortage? Would they not want to prioritize higher flexibility in production, since they would be able to profit from the higher prices during a shortage?
Natsu 6y ago
That's only true if all the plants run all their lines 24x7. If you have some plants that are not at capacity, you can hire additional shifts to produce more, run on weekends, etc. Then you have additional labor costs, overtime, materials costs, etc. to recoup. The manufacturing plant I once worked for had spare capacity for the better part of a decade, so it's not some completely unusual thing and was in fact part of our corporate strategy at the time to gain market share.
- dev_tty01 6y ago
  Right, but that doesn't mean the price has to increase. If they are profitable and handle all their fixed costs running a single shift, then the second shift should be more profitable at the same price. (Assuming the machines can handle it, etc.)
  - Natsu 6y ago
    Depends on how much overtime they have to factor into there. In the short term, especially for short term demand, it's going to be a lot of people making time and a half or 2x more likely than not. A new shift will take a while to train up and temps are... ugh... don't even get me started about the sort of people temp agencies send. We had some that only lasted a day for not listening and doing stupidly unsafe things. One of them nearly hit me upside the head with a piece of glass because he wasn't paying attention to where he was swinging it. That was his last day on the job, for precisely that reason.

asciident 6y ago

Do you think there would be any effect on the mindset of toilet paper manufacturers if they knew they could raise the price in a shortage? Would they not want to prioritize higher flexibility in production, since they would be able to profit from the higher prices during a shortage?

Natsu 6y ago

That's only true if all the plants run all their lines 24x7. If you have some plants that are not at capacity, you can hire additional shifts to produce more, run on weekends, etc. Then you have additional labor costs, overtime, materials costs, etc. to recoup. The manufacturing plant I once worked for had spare capacity for the better part of a decade, so it's not some completely unusual thing and was in fact part of our corporate strategy at the time to gain market share.

dev_tty01 6y ago
Right, but that doesn't mean the price has to increase. If they are profitable and handle all their fixed costs running a single shift, then the second shift should be more profitable at the same price. (Assuming the machines can handle it, etc.)
- Natsu 6y ago
  Depends on how much overtime they have to factor into there. In the short term, especially for short term demand, it's going to be a lot of people making time and a half or 2x more likely than not. A new shift will take a while to train up and temps are... ugh... don't even get me started about the sort of people temp agencies send. We had some that only lasted a day for not listening and doing stupidly unsafe things. One of them nearly hit me upside the head with a piece of glass because he wasn't paying attention to where he was swinging it. That was his last day on the job, for precisely that reason.