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Velvia 50 shortage

I just bought some "used" 120 Velvia 120 exp 4/21 from B&H. Listed as refurbished. Don't know if this old stock or what 42 bucks for 5 rolls.
 
And just like that, I got a shipping notice from Unique Photo for my July 14th order for 35mm Velvia at a much lower cost than Adorama. E100 has been out of stock in 35mm for most of the Summer at this point, but has been readily available in 120.
 
Just a quick update for September. Still no substantial change in the situation. All US photographic retailers I've been checking online about weekly, which normally stock Velvia 50 in 120 format, remain out-of-stock (B&H, Adorama, Unique, Freestyle, Samys, MPEx, Amazon.com). Since I first started this thread, among those retailers, only B&H has occasionally had stock, I'd say for about a week or so, every couple of months. None of the others have. Velvia 50 in 120 format has basically dropped off the face of the earth, in US stores.

Meanwhile I see it pretty consistently in stock at various European retailers (Fotoimpex, AG Photographic in the UK) and Japanese retailers have been consistently in stock this whole time (Bic, Yodobashi, Amazon.co.jp).

So, this US (or North American) shortage continues, going on for a straight 6 months or more now at least (some of those US retailers I've mentioned told me they haven't had any since late 2020). Do we still think this is just a normal supply chain problem and nothing to be concerned about?
 
Freestyle briefly had some (i actually ordered a provia before they sold out again), and they managed to get some pro 400h for a short time.

meanwhile... the situation with e100 seems to be slowly improving.
 
Regarding expiry date: I bought some boxes of Velvia 50 in 120 format a week ago in germany and their expiry date is 2022-2. (Provia 100F is 2022-3 in 120 and 4x5", all from the same distributor)
 
There are 40-50 cargo ships waiting offshore of California waiting to be docked and offloaded when usually there is maybe one ship. Maybe your film is sitting there expiring.
 
Not much to update on the matter but I did speak to the guys over at my local camera shop that I frequent (Hunt's): still none in stock however they did say that to their knowledge, it hasn't been discontinued and that it's due to a "supply shortage" (to quote them). Their stock of colour 35/120 films have also been drastically short the past couple months.

I managed to get ahold of a couple expired 120's for around $14 a pop... I really don't feel like having to pay DHL from Japan.
 
Blame the millenials buying more of our film. Kidding. Im glad I still have a 5 pak of Velvia 50 in 120 in my freezer, and some 35mm rolls as well. But I bought those a few years ago and froze them when they were received. I don't go through a lot of film per year, just due to not having enough to take pictures of.
 
An update: There may be something of a "thaw" finally taking place in the supply problem with 120 Velvia 50 in the United States. Within the past couple of weeks, several retailers have begun listing it in stock. Some have subsequently sold-out, but after selling-out, they have had it back in stock within several days or a week's time. I'm talking about major national retailers like B&H as well as more-minor, regional retailers like PictureLine in Salt Lake City. This looks like good news to me, though not a complete return to normality (since other retailers, big and small, still list it as consistently out-of-stock).
 
BTW today I received my first domestic order of 120 Velvia 50 in at least 9 months. From Samy's in LA, excellent price (about $10 a roll), and fresh stock (March 2023 expiry). Perhaps the shortage is ending.
 
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