Hundreds of toilet paper rolls spilled out of a semi-truck and onto a North Carolina interstate Thursday morning, according to a WSOCTV article.
The contents of the truck spilled into the southbound lanes on Interstate 85 in Gaston County a little before noon, WSOCTV reported. (RELATED: Along With Shortages Of Toilet Paper And Hand Sanitizer, NYC Is Running Out Of Dogs)
Officials have not yet said what caused the incident, but said traffic was not disrupted.
#Breaking – Hundreds of rolls of #ToiletPaper now cover a section of #I85 in @CityofGastonia by #milemarker16. Tune into @wsoctv later for more details. #BadTiming #ToiletPaperProblems #Gastonia #GastonCounty #Messy @NCSHP pic.twitter.com/PCRMYOeFuw
— Tyler Suggs (@TylerSuggsWSOC9) March 26, 2020
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus in the U.S. in recent weeks, panic-buying has has led to a shortage of toilet paper stock on local grocery store and supermarket shelves.
Most paper products sold in the U.S. are primarily made in domestic factories, which allows for faster production and distribution, according to Forbes. However, paper-making companies like Koch Industries, which makes the AngelSoft and Quilted Northern brands, told Forbes that the demand for toilet paper is currently doubled its normal volume.
While there is no absolute national shortage of toilet paper, the product is still being bought up at record rates, and local grocery stores and supermarkets are struggling to keep enough of it in stock.