Paint added to list of everyday products that are becoming harder to find

ST. GEORGE — Paint has joined a growing list of everyday products that are becoming harder to find, but whereas many of these supply chain disruptions have been a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, this one is rooted more recently.

Sherwin Williams clerk Gavin Joy helps a customer find the right paint for a home improvement project, St. George, Utah, May 30, 2021 | Photo by David Dudley, St. George News

After receiving a tip from a reader who said she bought the last gallon of elastomeric paint from the Sherwin Williams store on Sunset Boulevard, St. George News reached out to the store to find out if it was an isolated incident.

“It’s tough right now,” said Gavin Joy, a clerk at Sherwin Williams. “Ever since that winter storm hit Texas, it’s getting harder to find certain paints.”

In a year that had already been impacted by closures and lockdowns, the winter storm that wreaked havoc on Texas in February caused statewide power outages, as well as roughly 200 deaths. The cold weather, coupled with power outages, froze large quantities of the raw materials needed to make paint.

In a press release from April 27, Sherwin Williams CEO John G. Morikis said even before the storms, the supply chain was “already challenged” due to COVID-19.

“The February natural disaster in Texas further impacted the complex petrochemical network causing significant disruptions,” Morkis said.

Sherwin Williams clerk Gavin Joy in St. George, Utah, May 30, 2021 | Photo by David Dudley, St. George News

While this means that those looking to complete small home improvement projects may not be affected, some contractors may need to have some tricky conversations about costs.

“Contractors offer to complete a project for a certain price,” Joy said. “But if they want to use a more cost-effective product and we run out of it, they may need to use a higher quality product … which increases costs.”

Joy said this means that the contractor would have to go back to the client and ask for more money to complete the job. It may also mean that, as new construction in St. George grows, the shortage may intensify. And the end, Morikis said, isn’t yet within sight.

“These production disruptions are coupled with surging architectural and industrial demand,” he said. “That added pressure to supply rapidly drove commodity prices upwards. Recovery has been significant in recent weeks and is improving, but it’s still far from complete.”

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!