Barrel shortage
Rising demand strains supply for US shippers as J’cans rush to send hurricane relief
Published:Tuesday | November 18, 2025 | 12:09 AMLester Hinds/Gleaner Writer
NEW YORK:
As relief efforts intensify following the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa, shippers in the United States say they are now grappling with a shortage of barrels needed to send supplies to Jamaica.
Several major Jamaican-owned shipping companies report that they have been forced to ration barrels due to a sharp decline in deliveries from manufacturers.
Dennis Hawthorne, head of the Brooklyn-based Dennis Shipping, confirmed that his company has seen a noticeable drop in the number of barrels it receives.
“We have seen a reduction in the supplies of barrels,” he told The Gleaner. “We have been getting calls for barrels, and we have seen such an overwhelming outpouring of support that we are doing everything we can to ensure that supplies reach Jamaica.”
With an overwhelming outpouring of support from Jamaicans overseas eager to send relief items, Hawthorne said his team has been working “literally 24/7” to keep shipments moving. He urged persons unable to access barrels to instead use boxes to send their supplies. His company has also discounted shipping fees, though he said waiving them entirely is not possible.
Shipping consultant and former TransContinental Shipping head Bobby DeSouza also confirmed the shortage.
“We are just not getting the kind of supplies from the manufacturer as we have in the past,” he told The Gleaner, attributing the decline to increased demand from non-profit and community groups shipping aid to Jamaica.
DeSouza said he has reduced the retail price of barrels to help offset shipping costs for donors.
CHINA SUGGESTED
Meanwhile, philanthropist Dr Trisha Bailey told The Gleaner that she has not encountered a shortage, but has offered to connect shippers to a barrel manufacturer in China.
Bailey recently sent a planeload of relief supplies to Jamaica and cleared a container over the weekend; another container packed with mostly building materials is expected to arrive in the coming weeks.
DeSouza, however, cautioned that sourcing barrels from China is not practical due to long shipping times and high tariffs.
The Gleaner attempted to contact Grief Bros Manufacturing in New Jersey – the main supplier from which most shippers purchase barrels – but messages were not returned.