Charcoal Shortage?


 
Jay T

Jay T

TVWBB Member
I live in Winnipeg Canada And have found store shelves bare of charcoal. I spent the morning searching and was told at several retailers that due to Covid they are having manufacturing and supply problems specifically with charcoal. Is this just a local issue or a larger problem
 
Local and Imported Charcoal is readily available here in Costa Rica but a KingsFord Blue 8LB Bag will set you back around twenty(20) dollars and is never on sale.
 
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Usually I buy Royal Oak Chef's Select but yesterday the hardware store didn't have any, and when I asked they said the only RO they can currently get is the red bag.
 
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I'm not sure that it is a shortage. The big box retailers in my area have increased the amount of shelf space for pellets at the expense of shelf space for charcoal. Those same retailers have also increased the varieties of lump for sale, while decreasing the variety of briquettes for sale.

This tells me that pellet cookers and ceramic cookers are gaining in popularity, while traditional charcoal grilling is falling by the wayside. Reinforcing this opinion is that those same stores feature way more pellet, gas and ceramic cookers on the display floor than charcoal grills. Charcoal may be going the way of the station wagon. You can still find a station wagon, but you really have to hunt for it.
 
I think think there are some Covid-19 supply issues going on. You have a huge influx of people who have taken up grilling as a hobby during this time, just as you did with baking. I don't know if it's going on as much now as a lot of people are back to work. However, a lot of people have been trying to get back to their roots in some way. I signed up on Ancestry.com and other sites and started doing research for that reason. All that said I've seen as much charcoal as ever around here. You are seeing more lump and pellets than you have maybe in the past, but I don't see traditional charcoal grills going anywhere. There's room for everything.
 
I also think they have been playing catch up on supply ironically I was in HD today and there were 2 full pallets of KBB with plastic wrap on them they must of just come in. Not on the shelf yet they were in the enclosed garden center did not check the aisle to see if they had some out there but was also in Walmart yesterday and they had stock also.

I don't believe charcoal is going away either. It's interesting I live in a pretty large neighborhood know a fair amount of people. I don't know one who has a pellet grill, 4 or 5 of them have BGE's, a few kettles not many almost all of them have a gasser that includes the BGE owners. Sure that is like my house not going to ever take that Silver C away from the wife, the smoker and performer are my domain but the reality is the Silver C is still the go to grill on weekdays.
 
I don't think charcoal is going away. But in terms of outdoor cooking, it is well on the way to becoming the 3rd place fuel source behind gas and pellets. I live in SoCal. Grilling season is year-round. Some big boxes, like Costco, don't sell charcoal year round. At my local Costco, pellets are always available, and Traeger has a road show at least once a month, all year long. This could be a local phenomenon, but if it is, I doubt it will stay that way.

Out of all my friends that cook outside, I'm the only one that uses charcoal.
 
J Grotz said:
I don't think charcoal is going away. But in terms of outdoor cooking, it is well on the way to becoming the 3rd place fuel source behind gas and pellets. I live in SoCal. Grilling season is year-round. Some big boxes, like Costco, don't sell charcoal year round. At my local Costco, pellets are always available, and Traeger has a road show at least once a month, all year long. This could be a local phenomenon, but if it is, I doubt it will stay that way.

Out of all my friends that cook outside, I'm the only one that uses charcoal.
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J, I totally agree with you that charcoal is going to 3rd place. I have enough charcoal to last another 4 years but in February of this year I was in NC for a bridal shower at my sister in law, her husband was going to do a few briskets in the WSM but low on charcoal. She was going to Costco so I said I would tag along and we could get some KBB professional.

I talked to an employee there to ask him where it was and he said they don't carry it in the winter and he had no clue why because he got asked about it all the time but again we are in the south where grilling is pretty much year round, maybe in the mid west or up north not so much. I had no clue they did not carry it in the winter, we ended up going to Walmart where they had plenty. You are correct about the pellets they had the Traeger display since it was a Saturday they had reps in front of the Traeger grills answering questions and behind them plenty of their pellets.
 
Here I see it as fire restrictions killing charcoal from May to late September or maybe sometime in October no charcoal allowed, if we get any rain then maybe they will lift the restrictions.
I sold half my charcoal stash because I needed the room for pellets for the Camp Chef and I sold all my charcoal grills and my WSM except the Performer and the Smoky joe which I will try and sell at our next garage sale, leaving me the performer.
Doesn't make sense to keep the grills and the charcoal if you can't use them six months of the year.
Most of the stores around here have small amounts of charcoal for sale but not anything like it used to be.
 
Completely disagree.

Maybe briquettes are getting taken over more by lump...but I can't see much else changing anytime soon.

I have had a gas forever and just "upgraded" to a Performer and WSM...lol.

J Grotz said:
I don't think charcoal is going away. But in terms of outdoor cooking, it is well on the way to becoming the 3rd place fuel source behind gas and pellets. I live in SoCal. Grilling season is year-round. Some big boxes, like Costco, don't sell charcoal year round. At my local Costco, pellets are always available, and Traeger has a road show at least once a month, all year long. This could be a local phenomenon, but if it is, I doubt it will stay that way.

Out of all my friends that cook outside, I'm the only one that uses charcoal.
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Here in SoCal we're under the thumb of the South Coast Air Management District. If the air conditions are (basically) less than good, you can not cook using wood. Commercial facilities are exempt. And so is charcoal !
 
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Brad Olson said:
In other words, better to be a big fish in a small pond than the other way around. ;)
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Can you imagine trying to keep up with friend group of Jim Lampe, Cliff, JimK, Case, you and the dozen or so other Photo Gallery all stars I can't remember right now (and who are going to be 🤬 at me for not listing their names)??? 😱

Not to mention I'd be more overweight than I already am!
😉
 
Jay T said:
I live in Winnipeg Canada And have found store shelves bare of charcoal. I spent the morning searching and was told at several retailers that due to Covid they are having manufacturing and supply problems specifically with charcoal. Is this just a local issue or a larger problem
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I have found the same thing here in Edmonton, AB. CT and HD have zero charcoal (KBB or RO) in stock. I have been going to the local BBQ store and getting Jealous Devil Lump. I like it a lot but its $35 for a 20lb bag.
 
Brad Olson said:
Usually I buy Royal Oak Chef's Select but yesterday the hardware store didn't have any, and when I asked they said the only RO they can currently get is the red bag.
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The store is part of the Do it Best chain so I thought I could maybe scare up some ROCS online, but it appears that none of the RO products are currently orderable. However, I can order Kingsford and Cowboy products so maybe some manufacturers are having a harder time than others.
 
Just picked up a couple 40 pound bags of RO Chef's Select and a couple 35 pound bags of Jealous Devil lump from our favorite local supplier.
Didn't see any shortage on their site...
 
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