I must admit, I didn't think I had seen any, but of course when I think of shelves in the old Soviet Block...what Venezuela looks like now...but now that I think of it there are certain items (I don't always pay attention if it is something I don't look for or routinely buy) that have empty spots here an there. Not a lot, if I had to put a number on my local grocer...maybe 5% of the store? I always chalked it up to temporary runout of something popular/popular size, something put on special sale or perhaps a recall item that was pulled. Given the bacterial scares and pre-processed contamination scares that pop up here and there...didn't seem unusual. Certainly not at hardcore socialist levels yet. Any by me its scattered, still see plenty of canned goods and all that others stuff at my store.
Trucker issues and regulatory PITA's I believe. We have yet to see the runnup in gas prices at the pump, and the Venezuela impact will come as we get into Spring and warmer weather.
Sidebar re: Gas -
This helps offset Venezuela impact.I wish they would say where they are seeing this, not sure if the site name indicates a certain DC area, but I wonder if this is regional? And given his closing statement it seems a warning and a call for info to help determine the severity.