OT: Supply Chain

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fang

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Nov 29, 2010
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any personal experiences relating to supply chain issues? Parts and other supply back log is eating our lunch, some 16 weeks (or more) out.
 

Smoked Toag

Redshirt
Jul 15, 2021
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Yep. I am just simply HOPING that since it took us a around a year to really get into this mess, in another year, we will have pulled out of it and things will normalize. It's bad in construction right now, even things like lime.
 

Xenomorph

All-American
Feb 15, 2007
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The world is completely 17'ed...

All the containers are empty in this country.

A container used to quote at $1,600 to ship from Taiwan to Long Beach. Right now they're being quoted at $17,000.
 

Shmuley

Heisman
Mar 6, 2008
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Public bid projects, contractors holding bids for 30 days. The norm is 180. They can't go more than 30 due to supplier/sub refusal to hold pricing.
 

BoDawg.sixpack

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Feb 5, 2010
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I'm hearing that the blood tubes hospitals use to

collect tests related to hemostasis pathways are in short supply nationally. These are the blue colored tubes that contain sodium citrate.
 

missouridawg

Junior
Oct 6, 2009
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Yes. A specialty polymer is on allocation for us right now. The February Freeze is our main root cause, though, as it shut down processing on the Gulf Coast. We're going to receive about 20% of what we order monthly for a few months.

If anyone works in specialty polymer manufacturing and isn't scared to take a reverse engineering project (Maldi method preferrred), DM me. We will happily send a sample for analysis so we can try to find an alternative.
 

missouridawg

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Oct 6, 2009
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All the containers are empty in this country.

A container used to quote at $1,600 to ship from Taiwan to Long Beach. Right now they're being quoted at $17,000.

I read up this week about the shipping fees going crazy. We ship about 1 or 2 forty foot containers per month from Houston to London. Our price hasn't fluctuated one penny.
 

casinodog

Redshirt
Oct 24, 2012
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Its crazy right now. If anyone is interested, I just posted on the classifieds forum some brand new Kitchen Aid black stainless steel appliances that are still in boxes / crates. If you or know of anyone who is interested let me know.
 

aTotal360

Heisman
Nov 12, 2009
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Furniture and appliances are kicking my butt. I have clients using a couple of my coolers because its taking 6-9 weeks to get a fridge.
 

ronpolk

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May 6, 2009
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Public bid projects, contractors holding bids for 30 days. The norm is 180. They can't go more than 30 due to supplier/sub refusal to hold pricing.

I’m certainly not opposed to infrastructure spending (roads and such) but I’m sure they government launching a trillion plus $ package is going to pour gas on this fire if supply costs
 

casinodog

Redshirt
Oct 24, 2012
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Yes....we just bought an already built house and it had similar appliances so we are looking to sell the ones we bought.
 

horshack.sixpack

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Oct 30, 2012
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Not the same ballpark. I bought a VESA TV mount online last week. $15 standard shipping/$500 FedEx 2day/$1000 FedEx NextDay. Really weird and maybe just a website glitch?
 

Cooterpoot

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Aug 29, 2012
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Everything from medical appointments to Water heaters. Furniture, appliances, appraisals, basically everything including food.
I miss mean tweets and lower prices too. Inflation is about to destroy some ****. Foreclosure is going to explode when the government stops protecting deadbeats too.
Rates should increase a little later this year (unless Covid stays crazy) and that will slow up some demand. Demand is insane and supply is crap right now.
 

Jeffreauxdawg

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Dec 15, 2017
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Contracted a new semi custom home last September. Ground was scheduled to break in January of this year and it did. Original completion date was June 24th. Now it's tentative for October 21st.
 

Mjoelner

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Sep 2, 2006
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Yep. Our place has guys working overtime to keep on schedule for shortages that just arrived and we're still experiencing shortages. So, overtime will continue for the foreseeable future unless we catch up before the next batch of late parts arrive in which case we will have 300 people mopping floors, sweeping the parking lot and washing down the buildings until our parts arrive.

ETA: Most of our shortage issues are parts from Europe/Asia.
 
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Nov 16, 2005
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Herbicides, tractor parts, anything electronic, radiators 3 times what they were 6 months ago, even just farm equipment itself.


The herbicide shortage is going to get worse because most of them are manufactured in China and India. The factory in India that produces Liberty herbicide burned up back in the winter. That stuff is like gold right now. Roundup is going to be short too.
 

Xenomorph

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Feb 15, 2007
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Oh man.. you actually want to ship a container FROM here to somewhere? You should negotiate a lower rate. They are legit shipping empties out of here just to get them back to Asia and Europe.
 

Mobile Bay

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Jul 26, 2020
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Furniture and appliances are kicking my butt. I have clients using a couple of my coolers because its taking 6-9 weeks to get a fridge.

Took me six months to get my new fridge. Then they damaged it on delivery, so who knows when I will get the parts.
 

mstateglfr

All-American
Feb 24, 2008
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I work in transportation/logistics/supply chain management/whatever the 17 else our industry likes to call moving **** from point A to point B.

Containers not available, Containers costing 15x more than they did in recent months/years, over the road freight costing 5x more than it did a in recent years, mcdonalds being short of bags, cars being short of chips, bikes being short of multiple components, etc etc etc.
Its absolute 17ing chaos and there is no sense of an end.

- LTL carriers are way overbooked and struggling like crazy to catch up. In an effort to catch up with what frieght they already have, some have implemented embargos across their networks with absolutely 0 notice. This then 17ed over all the customers who rely on the carriers and obviously creates both delays and increases costs to ship.
- Intermodal carriers are the devil and continue to be. They continue to be abhorrent at pretty much everything and yet they can name their price due to supply and transportation conditions.


On a personal note- the bicycle industry is in total chaos. Prices for full bikes have jumped 20% easily over the last year and thats for what few bikes are even available. The big issue for me is a relative lack of consumables and the price hikes for what consumables are available. Bike chain, cassettes, brake pads, rotors, etc are all more expensive and less available. Then if you get into drivetrain availability- holy ****. Shifters, derailleurs, cranksets, etc are just not around at some levels/price points. Like total poof- gone.
A global spoke brand just announced their are out of some models. The largest drivetrain company in the world has had multiple covid shutdowns at factories over the last year and had a fire at one too, which has resulted in double digit month delays.
 

garddog

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Dec 10, 2008
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Almost all of this is because of issues in China. This has been an ongoing issue for 5 years. It started out with a few items, like freezers and water heaters in the appliance industry. All of the manufacturing went overseas. It put those into perpetual backorder, increased prices, and made it harder on the small retailers.

Your vendors basically have you over a barrel because when there are any extra, you best buy them up, which kills cash flow. 5 years ago, a 15 cu ft chest freezer sold for 300.00 to 400.00, now its 540.00 to 700.00.

This is a microcosm of the larger picture, but one of the earliest items impacted.

Manufacturing needs to come back to the US or it will get worse.
 

missouridawg

Junior
Oct 6, 2009
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Oh man.. you actually want to ship a container FROM here to somewhere? You should negotiate a lower rate. They are legit shipping empties out of here just to get them back to Asia and Europe.

Uhhh... I have a customer who pays good money for me to ship them products to the UK. Are you saying these ships are full of empties and that I'm probably overpaying considering that I'm actually giving them our agreed upon rate? That goes against the idea that container prices are skyrocketing elsewhere.
 

archdog

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Aug 22, 2012
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From what I deal with day in and day out, here are the items I know people are facing long lead times to acquire.

1. Polyiso Insulation - Chemical production plant burned to the ground during the ice storm.
2. Anything made out of prefinished and bare coiled steel. This includes roofing panels, wall panels, prefinished flashings, coil boxes for overhead coiling doors, studs, ductwork sheet metal
3. Electrical equipment
4. HVAC equipment
5. Wood - Due to cost increases and gigantic demand
6. Doors - Due to wood availability
7. Windows - due to both aluminum, steel, and wood availability
8. Furniture - Due to foam chemicals
9. General Labor - Mostly due to the cost of labor due to COVID with increased federal unemployment, some due to infection. Probably 10 to 1 wiht the 10 being people just simply not working and making equal to or more than they did as an employee. This has crossed every single hourly waged sector of the entire economy, and will end here shortly, but not without increased labor cost. The general labor issue has forced every product on the planet to be delayed. Every single one of them. Reduced capacity with growing need.
 

missouridawg

Junior
Oct 6, 2009
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Almost all of this is because of issues in China. This has been an ongoing issue for 5 years. It started out with a few items, like freezers and water heaters in the appliance industry. All of the manufacturing went overseas. It put those into perpetual backorder, increased prices, and made it harder on the small retailers.

Your vendors basically have you over a barrel because when there are any extra, you best buy them up, which kills cash flow. 5 years ago, a 15 cu ft chest freezer sold for 300.00 to 400.00, now its 540.00 to 700.00.

This is a microcosm of the larger picture, but one of the earliest items impacted.

Manufacturing needs to come back to the US or it will get worse.

If the COVID pandemic taught us anything, it's that we need to manufacture more **** here and we need to ease up regulations to spur that revival. From pharmaceuticals to electronics to appliances... bring that **** back to US soil and stop relying on China and their poor labor practices for this ****.
 

archdog

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Aug 22, 2012
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Container prices are skyrocketing because it is set by the cost China and Europe are paying currently. Their price includes shipping back empties to have the stock needed to ship them back.
Regardless if you are shipping something there, you would think that woudl offset the overall cost, but people are being specifically hired today to ship empties back. Different contracts are in place to ship filled orders. Both contribute to the overall numbers needed in Europe and Asia, but not in the numbers they are needing and the entire system is diconnected from each other.
 

horshack.sixpack

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Oct 30, 2012
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Housing market risk seems underappreciated, however, lending is tighter than it was during the '07 melt, so I'm not sure what to think. Also, if you are not a "deadbeat", i.e. can pay your mortgage because you remain employed in a job that is adequate to do so, be thankful. I suspect there are a few actual deadbeats that are taking advantage during this time, but far more are suffering real repercussions related to a pandemic. If your family lost it's source of income, would you immediately move them to the streets to make sure you didn't become a deadbeat? Would you wait until you were a month behind? Two months? 6 months? It's OK to be pro work ethic AND have some compassion.
 

Cooterpoot

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Aug 29, 2012
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Housing market risk seems underappreciated, however, lending is tighter than it was during the '07 melt, so I'm not sure what to think. Also, if you are not a "deadbeat", i.e. can pay your mortgage because you remain employed in a job that is adequate to do so, be thankful. I suspect there are a few actual deadbeats that are taking advantage during this time, but far more are suffering real repercussions related to a pandemic. If your family lost it's source of income, would you immediately move them to the streets to make sure you didn't become a deadbeat? Would you wait until you were a month behind? Two months? 6 months? It's OK to be pro work ethic AND have some compassion.

Well, you're wrong on your opinion of who isn't paying their mortgage. Hard working people have found jobs. Sensible people are employed. There are jobs everywhere right now. Most pay $15/hr plus. Trust me, I deal directly with it every single day.
The number of sorry humans grows daily.
 

missouridawg

Junior
Oct 6, 2009
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Well, you're wrong on your opinion of who isn't paying their mortgage. Hard working people have found jobs. Sensible people are employed. There are jobs everywhere right now. Most pay $15/hr plus. Trust me, I deal directly with it every single day.
The number of sorry humans grows daily.

Megyn Kelly's podcast interviews a landlord in Seattle this week that talks about how emboldened the dead beat renters are right now. It's a shame that our govt is letting these clowns get away with some of the stuff that's happening.
 

mstateglfr

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Feb 24, 2008
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9. General Labor - Mostly due to the cost of labor due to COVID with increased federal unemployment, some due to infection. Probably 10 to 1 wiht the 10 being people just simply not working and making equal to or more than they did as an employee. This has crossed every single hourly waged sector of the entire economy, and will end here shortly, but not without increased labor cost. The general labor issue has forced every product on the planet to be delayed. Every single one of them. Reduced capacity with growing need.

I am smart enough to know I am not smart enough to know all the ways in which pay and covid affect job rates. It is something I wonder about quite frequently though, since basically every retail store, food chain, etc has 'now hiring' signs plastered on windows and walls.


Here in Iowa, the extended unemployment benefits ended back on June 12, so 2 months ago. Maybe there are now fewer vacant jobs overall, but it sure doesnt seem like anything is better now compared to back in May, which was before the extended benefits stopped. Big box retail is still woefully shortstaffed. Grocers are still woefully shortstaffed. Basically all other general retail is woefully shortstaffed. Some restaurants are only open a few days a week due to being shortstaffed. etc etc etc.\

People arent making equal or more than they did when they worked at this point, yet the labor shortage is still very real. An increase in labor cost would obviously help, but then the levels above entry pay would need to increase as well, and soon there isnt much of an effective net change.

Its all quite confusing since it doesnt follow the simple supply/demand concept.
 

Jeffreauxdawg

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Dec 15, 2017
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You need people to effectively work those jobs though. There is a massive shortfall of people willing or able to work a skilled manufacturing job in the us. Similar boat for construction.

I have a few friends that own decent size manufacturing operations. One is transitioning to imports and not going to rely as much on his internal production. Another is cashing out and selling his building/land. The third may be ahead of the curve, he is now hiring convicted felons. Says it's the only way to find people willing to work in a factory environment.

In certain jobs it doesn't matter how much you pay, you cannot attract willing workers. The only option may be a revamped immigration policy were we value blue collar workers as much as white collar workers. Seems more likely than cutting off the government tit at this point.
 

garddog

Freshman
Dec 10, 2008
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You need people to effectively work those jobs though. There is a massive shortfall of people willing or able to work a skilled manufacturing job in the us. Similar boat for construction.

I have a few friends that own decent size manufacturing operations. One is transitioning to imports and not going to rely as much on his internal production. Another is cashing out and selling his building/land. The third may be ahead of the curve, he is now hiring convicted felons. Says it's the only way to find people willing to work in a factory environment.

In certain jobs it doesn't matter how much you pay, you cannot attract willing workers. The only option may be a revamped immigration policy were we value blue collar workers as much as white collar workers. Seems more likely than cutting off the government tit at this point.

This particular issue goes all the way back to education. We (the USA) have put an emphasis on college education. We have told kids they are too good for vocational jobs. It is self fulfilling when kids are told this over and over. The majority of the jobs in retail, restaurants, and entry level manufacturing have always been held by young non college, or attending college individuals.

Kids need to be told that vocational jobs are valuable.
 

mstateglfr

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Feb 24, 2008
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This particular issue goes all the way back to education. We (the USA) have put an emphasis on college education. We have told kids they are too good for vocational jobs. It is self fulfilling when kids are told this over and over. The majority of the jobs in retail, restaurants, and entry level manufacturing have always been held by young non college, or attending college individuals.

Kids need to be told that vocational jobs are valuable.

Vocational jobs need to pay well enough. And also compensate for the years of wear and tear that often comes with the jobs.
To be clear, I totally agree with you- there should not be a stigma due to someone being an electrician or plumber. Those jobs are seemingly in constant demand and good ones that are prompt and return calls are relatively rare(at least around me).
 

The Peeper

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Feb 26, 2008
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I suspect there are a few actual deadbeats that are taking advantage during this time, but far more are suffering real repercussions related to a pandemic

I'm not sure what the answer to this problem is. There are landlords EVERYWHERE having to make payments to a bank on a property while their properties are full of non-paying tenants. I get giving them a little time to find an income but at some point there has to be relief for the landlord. A tenant signs an agreement to pay just like a landlord signs a mortgage on a property to pay. With job offerings out there EVERYWHERE at some point early in the process that family has to either find some of those jobs or get out of the property so someone that can pay can move it and allow the landlord to collect and pay his/her obligation. This crap of deadbeats squatting and not doing anything to remedy their situation has got to stop though.
 

IBleedMaroonDawg

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Nov 12, 2007
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If the COVID pandemic taught us anything, it's that we need to manufacture more **** here and we need to ease up regulations to spur that revival. From pharmaceuticals to electronics to appliances... bring that **** back to US soil and stop relying on China and their poor labor practices for this ****.

Your lips to God's ears. The problem is everyone from our politicians to our entertainment industry and countless manufacturer giants are tied to China at the hip.
 

Dawg_4_lifes

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Sep 17, 2016
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The automobile industry has got to be sucking wind bad.

I sale wholesale aftermarket automotive supplies and parts to lube shops, retail, and mechanics. The manufacturers are having a hard time getting material to make the product. Our products from overseas are arriving 50-90 days behind the due date. We have about 1/3 of the staff needed to run the warehouse efficiently. We were shipping same day if the order was placed before noon, but now we are lucky to get the order out within 14 days. Then once it is shipped you have to hope that the freight company will be able to get it to them in an appropriate amount of time and not beat up or lost completely. Most of my day now is spent either tracking orders, fixing freight problems, and screaming 17's. If this building was more than 2 stories i would do a header off of it most days.
 
Nov 16, 2005
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Totally agree. I wish young people looked at vocational school more. Many of those jobs pay very well.
 

dorndawg

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Sep 10, 2012
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Your lips to God's ears. The problem is everyone from our politicians to our entertainment industry and countless manufacturer giants are tied to China at the hip.


I'm not saying any of those are blameless, but if Americans are simply unwilling to work in manufacturing, what is your solution to the problem?
 
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