Never let it be said that the airfreight industry will back down from a daunting humanitarian challenge. From any region of the globe, heroic cargo carriers can step up when needed to transport emergency medicines, shelters, fuel, personnel and … French fries?
Well, it’s not exactly on par with the Berlin Airlift, but air cargo companies have helped the nation of Japan end a crippling McDonald’s French fry shortage that had ravaged the country’s super-sized appetite for three weeks. The shortage, which forced the 3,100 McDonald’s restaurants in Japan to ration its dwindling fry supply and offer only small-sized portions since mid-December, finally ended today thanks to an emergency shipment of about 2,600 tonnes of frozen French fries in late December.
According to a statement from McDonald’s Japan, the shortage arose from the ongoing slowdown due to labor dispute at seaports along the U.S. West Coast, which caused lengthy delays in the shipment of the restaurant chain’s signature side-dish in late 2014.
McDonald’s Japan also said about 1,000 tonnes of fries were sent via airfreight from East Coast ports and another 1,600 tonnes were shipped by seafreight. Beginning on Jan. 5, 2015, the small-size limit was removed at all locations and customers are again free to order large portions.
No information was provided about which air cargo carriers were used in the “airlift” or how much the shortage has affected sales for the restaurant giant’s Japanese operations.
While the island nation also grows some potatoes on its own, most of those are prepared and eaten fresh, the Associated Press reported. Most of the 300,000 short tons of French fries consumed each year in Japan are imported in pre-cut frozen form.
While the restrictions have been lifted, McDonald’s Japan cautioned its customers that the emergency shipment may not be enough to meet demand. “We will continue to monitor the situation carefully to do our best to ensure stable supply of potato products,” the company added.