Ginger Shortage?

I don’t mean to be alarmist, but is there an unreported shortage of fresh ginger root? I’m back to cooking dinner for my friends. This morning I was contemplating a new recipe that is healthy flavorful and seasonal. I came up with a chicken, gingered carrot, green bean dish served with rice on the side for the January dieters.  
Knowing that snow is predicted I went to the store today to purchase the ingredients. I figure I can fill the Land Cruiser with the yummy food and deliver it around to my friends if they are snowed in. Getting twelve pounds of carrots was easy. Twelve pounds of chicken, no problem. Green beans, rice, green onions, check, check, check. I have 20 heads of garlic so that is covered. I knew I had ginger root in the freezer, but thought I should add to my storehouse.  
I was at a Trader Joe’s where they always have ginger next to my highly prized .99¢ shallots, but alas today there way none. When I asked one of the friendly clerks she cheerfully said, “of course we do, right over…” as she walked me to the spot I had already searched. “Huh.”
Off to Harris Teeter where ginger would be much more expensive, but usually readily available. I knew that it lived in the black baskets on the end cap of the potato and onion display. I rounded the shelves to find clean and empty baskets, not a hand in sight. Huh.  
Over to the prepped veggie fridge where the most expensive of chopped onions and sliced mushrooms are displayed. There they have puréed garlic, ginger and lemon grass in convenient tubes. I was going to have to pay quadruple, but I had already purchased everything else for my imagined recipe.
There in the high rent district of the super market were a few tubes of garlic and one lone lemon grass, but not a finger of ginger, whole, minced or pulverized could be found. By this time I was tiring of this treasure hunt so I just went home. I opened the freezer to find four nice sized hands carefully wrapped. I am ever so thankful that I keep a well stocked larder so I have the freedom to whip up new recipes without having to interrupt the creative process with shopping.
Tomorrow I will start developing this meal, but I am worried that there is some unannounced ginger shortage. Perhaps there have been a lot of news stories about the medicinal and dietary powers of ginger driving non-ginger buying regulars to the store.
Keep a look out when you are shopping and if you see a nice hand pick one up for me. I can always make tea out of it if I get too much.