VERMILION, Ohio — Salt and ice melt have been hot commodities during Northeast Ohio’s recent cold snap. Customers have been combing stores as retailers struggle to keep up with demand.
“I started looking probably four days ago,” said Kelly Neal. “I was not finding salt anywhere.”
His fourth stop landed him at Steinacker Hardware in Vermilion. The store ran out of salt over the weekend and Neal added his name to a nearly 80-person waitlist.
“I probably have at least three inches of ice right now. I’m tired of chopping,” Neal said of his Vermilion driveway. “I put my name down and here we are, here to get my bags of salt.”
News 5 visited the hardware store last week ahead of a freezing rain forecast. At that point, it had a few dozen bags of salt remaining.
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“You be as prepared as you can and you kind of just deal with the situation,” said owner Luke Steinacker.
Tuesday afternoon, Steinacker Hardware had about 50 bags of salt remaining from a Monday shipment. He explained the product was leaving shelves almost as quickly as it was restocked.
“Calling around - you’ve got your box stores, even your wholesalers and your landscapers – everyone’s short. There’s not much supply,” he said.
News 5 checked in with several big box stores in Lorain County. One Lowe’s location was offering pool salt as an alternative to the sold-out sidewalk salt. A Tractor Supply had none in stock. One Home Depot posted signs at its entrances warning customers of the situation.
“[This is the] first time I’ve run into this problem,” Neal said.
Customers haven’t been alone in struggling to find salt. Retailers said their typical sources are running out for the season.
“We haven’t been able to get any directly from our vendors, so it’s a matter of finding wholesalers or companies that still have it available. We’re going and taking our trucks and picking it up,” Steinacker explained.
He said many wholesalers he contacted were reserving their supplies for municipalities and road crews. The hardware store’s latest stock came from a local landscaping company, and Steinacker said he’s keeping other sources close as he expects salt to be increasingly difficult to come by.
“What they had was what they prepared for - based on the past couple years and the winters and the supply chain,” he explained. “Bagged goods and availability for retailers and just everyday residential use is going to be short.”
Customers stocking up Tuesday hoped they had enough to last until the weather warms.
“I’m ready to tap out and have spring come around the corner and be done with this all,” Neal laughed.
