2020’s Next Cruel Joke: We’re Apparently Running Out of Aluminum Cans

Seriously, 2020...what now?

Our intrepid Social Media Guru, Justin, was in local grocery concern mode as he perused the aisles for a tasty beverage and was stopped cold by the sign you see above.

Now, we know there are concerns over the hoarding of toilet paper, but who knew that millions of people stuck at home, drinking gallons of soda and beer each day, would result in a shortage of aluminum for cans?

Looking up and down the aisle, it appeared painfully obvious that there was a serious shortage that needed to be addressed, as we see below presented as Exhibit A:

Oh, wait...apparently the issue is that no one wants to bend down and lift the copious amounts of carbonated beverages that are actually still on the shelves.

Shortage? What shortage?

Apparently there were concerns at the height of Covidageddon that as a result of people stocking up on items such as beer and pop that manufacturers of aluminum cans would have a hard time keeping up. In this article from Thrillist, several craft breweries were reported to be suffering from a shortage of cans with which to package their products, which could eventually lead to shortages in stores.

Ball Corporation, which is the world's largest can manufacturer, made claims that there could be a shortage of 10 BILLION cans this year. A statement from the head of the Brewer's Association said that:

"Many small breweries are going to struggle to make it through the winter. More can manufacturing capacity will help many brewers, but it alone isn’t going to help everyone, since many breweries never really focused on packaged beer."

So, a local brewery that had to shut down due to the pandemic would need to can and package their beer for sale in stores to survive. But, without cans, it's easy to see how small businesses would struggle.

However, when you look in the grocery stores, there still appears to be plenty of Coca-Cola, Dr Pepper, et al on the shelves. So, who's hurting? Big companies can still get their cans, but the little guy is in the fight for his life.

Or, perhaps we need to be more invested in recycling here in West Texas. It would only be a small step, but it can't hurt.