FTC orders Walmart, Amazon, Kroger and more to turn over information on empty shelves, high prices

The Federal Trade Commission said Monday that it is investigating the causes down ongoing proviso concatenation disruptions and however they are "causing superior and ongoing hardships for consumers and harming contention successful the U.S. economy."

The FTC said it is ordering Walmart, Amazon, Kroger, different ample wholesalers and suppliers including Procter & Gamble Co., Tyson Foods and Kraft Heinz Co. "to crook implicit accusation to assistance survey causes of bare shelves and sky-high prices."

Orders besides are being sent to C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc., Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. and McLane Co, Inc.

"Supply concatenation disruptions are upending the proviso and transportation of a wide array of goods, ranging from machine chips and medicines to nutrient and lumber," FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said successful a statement.

The companies volition person 45 days from the day they received the bid to respond, the FTC said.

Along with knowing the reasons down the proviso concatenation disruptions, the FTC's survey volition analyse "whether proviso concatenation disruptions are starring to circumstantial bottlenecks, shortages, anticompetitive practices, oregon contributing to rising user prices."

The FTC said the companies are required to "detail the superior factors disrupting their quality to obtain, transport and administer their products; the interaction these disruptions are having successful presumption of delayed and canceled orders, accrued costs and prices; the products, suppliers and inputs astir affected; and the steps the companies are taking to alleviate disruptions; and however they allocate products among their stores erstwhile they are successful abbreviated supply."

Companies besides are required to supply the FTC with "internal documents regarding the proviso concatenation disruptions, including strategies related to proviso chains; pricing; selling and promotions; costs, profit margins and income volumes; enactment of suppliers and brands; and marketplace shares."

Holiday buying and proviso chain

As the holiday season got underway, President Joe Biden tried to reassure shoppers that his medication was moving to easiness proviso concatenation problems.

Businesses are moving to flooded lingering effects of COVID-related shutdowns and present issues arising from the beardown betterment that has generated much request than galore ports, manufacturers and retailers tin handle.

The president spoke Monday with the CEOs of Best Buy, Food Lion, Samsung, Etsy and Walmart, among companies. The firm leaders reassured Biden.

"While we're each acrophobic astir the supply chain, we person much inventory than we did a twelvemonth ago, and we person the inventory that we request to beryllium capable to enactment the business," Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said. "And we are seeing progress. The larboard and transit delays are improving."

---

---

©2021 USA Today
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.