Paper towel sales outpacing pre-COVID-19 times ahead of possible second wave

Get ready to stock up.

There’s a warning that consumers may soon be clearing out the supply of paper towels if there’s a second wave of COVID-19.

It could be shades of the springtime, the head of Canada’s largest maker of tissue products says he’s concerned about the industry’s supply of paper towel.

Kruger Products CEO Dino Bianco says the demand for paper towel has soared because people are wiping down each and every surface in the house.

Bianco says the toilet paper shortage this spring just turned out to be a bit of an overreaction, but paper towel demand is the real deal and inventory is already very tight. Kruger makes the sponge towels brand.

Other companies in the market, Proctor & Gamble Canada, which makes Bounty, and Irving Consumer Products, which makes Royale, are both seeing high demand.

Geraldine Huse, president of Procter & Gamble Canada, says demand for the company’s tissue products, including Charmin Toilet Paper and Bounty Paper Towels, increased significantly in mid-March.

While toilet paper consumption has returned to normal levels, she said paper towel sales continue to outpace pre-COVID levels.

Meanwhile, Kruger is pushing to open its new plant in Sherbrooke, Quebec, to add more capacity.

It’s ramping things up months ahead of a previously planned 2021 opening.