Experts: There’s no cash shortage
No reason to stock up, they say, adding it may be global reaction.
There is no reason to stock up on cash, experts say, despite consumers hoarding hard currency as the novel coronavirus spreads throughout the United States.
Across the country, consumers are pulling out cash at a greater than usual rate. There are stories of ATMs running out of bills, grocery stores restricting or ending cashback transactions, and reported cases of bank branches limiting transactions.
But that’s not evidence of a cash shortage, according to industry professionals. Rather, it’s likely just the individual location not holding surplus cash locally, be it an ATM, bank branch or grocery store.
“There is no cash shortage,” said Paul Benda, an expert in bank risk and security at the American Bankers Association and a former Department of Homeland Security official.
“There are some local branches whose vaults, frankly, only hold so much cash,” but the banks themselves are well-capitalized and stable, he said.
Little impact
The Federal Reserve, which distributes cash to banks through its FedCash service, said it has not experienced pronounced spikes in demand and has had no difficulty meeting demand for cash, according to a spokeswoman.
A primal reaction to any global stress, some consumers prefer to withdraw large sums of cash when panicked, in case of emergency.
But that rationale is flawed, much like the rationale to stock
going to favor their people.”
Hardy said the company needs to buy several more of the custom machines used to produce the transport medium. One is currently located at the company facilities in California and Springboro.
In the meantime, Hardy will staff multiple shifts and pay overtime to meet demand until the new machines are delivered in three to four months.
“We’re getting a lot of orders. One of those orders came from the White House,” he said.
Hardy said the company was contacted on Saturday by Joseph Russo and Paige
Waterman, aides to President Donald Trump, and had to explain they were not initially in a position to meet the anticipated demand.
On Monday, Hardy produced 11,000 units, now undergoing quality control testing at the California plant.
The media is used to collect specimens from patients’ noses and throats and transported for testing. The kits preserve the specimens for three days.
The identification is made by identifying ribonucleic acid (RNA) from the virus. RNA carries genetic instructions for controlling the synthesis of proteins.
Hardy also anticipates heightened demand for other products used to detect bacteria like those that can eventually kill patients with
COVID-19 who wind up with bacterial infections through ventilator use.
“We foresee an increase in demand in all of our culture media products,” he said.
In 2019, California-based Hardy completed a $7 million expansion in Springboro.
The expansion, to about 100,000 square feet, nearly doubles the size of the building at the south end corner of Pioneer Boulevard.
Hardy sells medical devices and “culture media” used to diagnose infections in cleanroom facilities designed to prevent contamination.
Distribution is carried out from seven locations across the country in addition to Springboro and Santa Maria, where the company located after being formed in Santa Barbara in 1980.
Ohio operations moved to Springboro from Lima in 2011.
Hardy employs 400, 93 in Springboro “and growing,” the founder said Wednesday.