Hunt is on across the area for people looking for ice melt, driveway salt

PITTSBURGH — As icy conditions stick around, many stores across our region are dealing with salt shortages.

“I’m running low and went out at lunchtime to see if I could find it,” said hopeful customer Todd Williams, who we caught up with outside of Rollier Hardware in Mt. Lebanon.

Williams quickly turned around after seeing a “sold out” sign by the door. Store owner Doug Satterfield said they received about 600 bags yesterday and sold out quickly.

“We were averaging customers every 40 seconds,” Satterfield said. “We did limit our customers to no more than two bags or two pales and it didn’t last but for two hours!”

Satterfield said it’s simply a supply and demand issue. He expects more to come in tomorrow, but that should be it for the week.

“It’s been a problem and it will continue to be a problem for the rest of the year,” he told Channel 11. “All of our distributors, every single one... everyone’s on zero. It’s gonna take time to refill the pipeline of product.”

Many of the big box stores were out on Wednesday, too. A sold out sign was spotted outside of the Home Depot in Ross Township. And in Scott Township, customers left the Lowe’s empty-handed.

“I got it before but now I’m having trouble finding it!” said one shopper there.

At last, we did track down a shipment in Bellevue. Channel 11 cameras were rolling as about 100 bags were delivered to the T & M Hardware store there on Lincoln Avenue. Quickly, customers swarmed, and those sold out by the late afternoon. Another shipment, however, came in later. Staff members have even been adding customers to a wait list, calling them when shipments come in.

“We’ve been able to give our customers at least 30 minutes notice, and give them a fighting chance at getting a bag of salt!” said Samantha Post, whose family runs the store’s six local locations.

Each one of them received deliveries on Wednesday, but getting those shipments hasn’t been so simple.

“We have plenty of salt orders placed,” Post said. “But because of the storms that the country is facing, delivering and moving salt has become a safety thing... that’s what’s causing the delays right now, so our orders are slowly trickling in.”

In any case, customers were grateful to finally track some down.

“It feels good!” said Cory Stepp, who had spent several days on the hunt. “I was glad!”

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