PBS高端访谈:继婴儿配方奶粉短缺后 美国又现卫生棉条短缺(1)（在线收听）

Tampons are the latest addition to the growing list of out of stock items in states all across the country.

卫生棉条是全美各州不断增加的断货清单中最新的物品。

Supply chain problems have left many shelves sparse and the products have become more expensive, making it equally hard to find affordable alternatives.

由于供应链问题，许多货架上的商品变得稀缺，产品变得更加昂贵，因此同样很难找到价格合理的替代品。

My colleague Lisa Desjardins looks into what's behind this latest shortage.

我的同事丽莎·德斯贾丁斯调查了最近的短缺背后的原因。

Overlapping with the ongoing baby formula shortage, scarcity of some tampon products across the country is driving more consumer frustration.

在婴儿配方奶粉短缺的同时，全国各地一些卫生棉条产品的短缺也让消费者更加沮丧。

To explain what's happening here, I'm joined by Sharon Terlep of The Wall Street Journal.

为了解释这里发生的事情，我们请到了《华尔街日报》的莎伦·特莱普。

Sharon, Americans know by now we've had supply chain issues up and down, the product line for consumers.

莎伦，美国人现在知道我们的供应链上上下下都有问题，也就是消费者的产品线。

But why in particular, with tampons what's going on?

但为什么，尤其是卫生棉条的供应链有问题呢?

Sure, it's a case of, there's problems all over.

当然，问题到处都有。

And it's, you know, just some of them happen to hit tampons.

只是卫生棉条碰巧出了点问题。

But part of this is because it's an industry that's dominated by one very large player, Procter & Gamble, they ran into some bumps.

但这在一定程度上是因为这是一个由宝洁主导的行业，他们遇到了一些困难。

And then the number two player Edgewell had a very specific kind of tampon related supply chain issue.

然后，排名第二的Edgewell公司遇到了与卫生棉条相关的供应链问题。

And so all of a sudden, there are a lot of brands that just aren't available, which you know, as any woman who's used a tampon knows you want your brand and what you're comfortable with.

所以突然之间，有很多品牌是不能买到的，你知道的，因为任何用过卫生棉条的女性都知道，你想要的是自己认可的品牌和让你舒服的棉条。

Does this have to do with supply coming from outside the United States of what goes into making tampons?

这和生产卫生棉条的原料来自美国以外的地方有关吗?

Sure, I mean tampons, they seem simple, but they're actually pretty complicated and regulated.

当然，我的意思是卫生棉条，它们看起来很简单，但实际上它们相当复杂和规范。

They're regulated as a medical device by the FDA. So not anyone can make them.

卫生棉条作为一种医疗设备受到美国食品及药物管理局的监管。所以不是每个人都能生产。

They're made out of what we call a non-woven, which are sheets that are kind of used together.

它们是由无纺布制成的，可以用于制作床单。

So they're a complicated and pretty high tech product.

因此，它们是一种复杂且相当高科技的产品。

So they're the kind of thing that when their supply chain issues, they're more likely to be affected.

因此，当卫生棉条的供应链出现问题时，它们更有可能受到影响。

Now, Walgreens told us in a statement that their pharmacies are, "experiencing some temporary brand specific shortages in certain geographies."

现在，沃尔格林在一份声明中告诉我们，他们的药店“在某些地区出现了暂时性的特定品牌短缺”

So have prices going up everywhere？And where exactly are their shortages right now？

那么，各地的物价都在上涨吗？现在到底在哪里出现了卫生棉条的短缺？

Sure, prices have gone up everywhere.

当然，所有地方的价格都在上涨。

So every company that makes tampons, all the big companies have raised prices just as part of inflation supply chain issues.

因此，每一家生产卫生棉条的公司，所有的大公司都提高了价格，这只是通胀供应链问题的一部分。

But what we saw in the data is there's regional shortages, that you're more severe than others.

但我们从数据中看到的是地区性短缺，你所在地区比其他地区短缺更严重。

And a lot of it just has to do with, you know, can be as specific as to the store or it may be a brand.

这其中很大一部分只是，你知道，具体到像是与商店或品牌有关。

So it's not widespread, but it's widespread enough that it seems fairly severe.

所以短缺范围并不广，但足够普遍，以至于短缺看起来相当严重。