Road salt shortage in CNY leaves shoppers scrambling

Yahoo

14-02-2025

FAYETTEVILLE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — With temperatures expected to drop Thursday evening, searching for road salt is getting more difficult for consumers, who are scrambling to find a bag at stores in Central New York. Many stores have reported to NewsChannel 9 low inventory or empty shelves as this winter's icy conditions continue.
The growing salt shortage affecting counties across New York State is making it difficult for stores like Village Ace Hardware in Fayetteville, which sells much of its salt to the general public.
The hardware store on the corner of Salt Springs Road and South Manlius Street has been struggling to find salt while keeping it in stock.
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One of the managers at Village Ace Hardware, Kevin Blair, said that they have reached out to all sorts of suppliers, hoping they will sell salt to them for their customers. The manager disclosed that the supplier they usually use is entirely out for the rest of this winter season.
For the past couple of days, when customers came in the store expecting to purchase salt and realized that there was not a single bag to buy, Blair said that they were understanding, but only to a certain degree.
'It's unfortunate, we are all in this situation,' said the Village Ace Hardware manager. 'There are other retailers that are out of the salt, too. So, they're coming in saying,' Do you have any? Are you going to get more? 'We're doing our best to meet the demand, but it's kind of a losing battle all around.'
Luckily, mid-afternoon, an Ace Hardware truck pulled in with 150 bags of salt to save the day. The Fayetteville Ace employees got right to work, using a forklift to remove the salt immediately and haul it over to the front entrance. Hence, shoppers know they have it in stock.
'It's going to be nice to answer the phone and say yes, we do have ice melter instead of saying no we don't like the other businesses around,' said Blair.
But if you're lucky enough to find a store that has the road salt, don't plan on stocking up. At this Ace Hardware location, due to the increase in supply and demand, customers are limited to five bags per day to make sure every customer has a chance to get salt too.
If you can't find road salt, it is recommended to use alternatives like sand or cat litter to help improve traction on icy surfaces. While they might not melt as effectively as salt, they can provide a temporary solution.
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