Supply chain affecting anyone?


Just found out from my dealer that my Sonus Faber speakers won’t deliver until early January (ordered in early October). For reference, he says it normally takes 2-3 weeks. 
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I am thankful for what I have and what most of us all enjoy today. The sky is not falling and perhaps it’s time to take a deep breath. Sometimes the best way through challenging times is not to grumble or spread fear. Sometimes it’s best to be thankful and encouraging. Just a timeout break for this darkening thread.
Yes, bicycle parts - SRAM in particular is going to hold up delivery of a new bike by months, but they are not the only company having issues.
I am in manufacturing but not hifi. I have been watching things get worse since the beginning of the pandemic. Our normal supplier leads times have gone from 30 days 9 months on some materials. The costs for shipping containers have increased 500%. At the same time our customers are having great sales numbers and our factories are fully booked through to the fall of 2022. It is insane.
I don't expect things to get better for the supply chain and shipping costs until the end of 2022 at the earliest
Ron @ New Record Day loves the LOUNGE phono pre amp. Ordered one from Robert ( hand built) $349.....Magnificent sounding ...very short wait. Highly recommended.
I ordered a Clearaudio 12V smart power supply for my tt on 10-22-2021.  It is scheduled to be delivered day after tomorrow.  In late September I bought a new turntable, arm and cartridge.  The dealer had them all ready for me to pick up within three weeks.
Most of the examples of "I got mine fast" are cases of existing inventory. Metal is a problem affecting everyone and the raw material (slugs and blanks etc) come from China. Chances are good they are sitting out a sea. Once existing inventory is gone then the wait time arrives.

No one likes this, and there is no grand design or conspiracy. The pandemic (whether you beleive in it or not) was a once in a lifetime event that has challenged first labor (everyone in the factory sent home) and then shipping (dock workers and customs staff sent home for months) causing back ups in delviery and then new product supply. This surprises us all because we never seen anything like this before, at least since WW2. The world works on a "just in time" system that cannot sustain any interuptions to supply and countries are so interlinked it affects everyone. A good example of this is GM shutting an entire car plant and production line over a chip shortage, created by a major fire at one of the largest chip manufacturers in the world that happened last year. It took a while to use up inventory but months after the fire, plants are closing. This is exactly what we are seeing in every manufacturing industry. The idea of 100% american made is not true in most cases because that 100% American depends on 100% American raw materials (we cant or dont make due to environmental laws) and 100% American factories and labor (many sub assemblies are done elsewhere to get the price down). In consumer audio, who in the US makes a tube? No one- that business is long gone. Its small,. expensive to do and very dirty using lots of nasty chemicals and creatng nasty waste products that are difficult to get rid of.  The EPA wont allow a company to throw MEK out the back door on the ground anymore.  Who makes all those little parts on ciuricuit boards? I can tell you, not the US, that's China, Malaysia, Thailand, India and places where you CAN throw MEK out the back door. Maybe some parts can be made in the US (I also build pro audio gear and use US made Jensen transformers) but not enough of them to build the entire piece of gear.  If it was possible to build it ALL here, it would cost 10X more than what the market will bear.  Who would pay $1000+ for an Apple TV?  Or pay $2000 for the cheapest DAC?

The good news is jobs jobs jobs. There will be and is a boom in avaiable work.  The economy, flush with paid workers will be spending their money.  This will likely continue until the back order hole is filled. I expect that will last almost the entire decade. It will also cause some smaller entrepreneurial businesses to resestablish local supplies, making themselves less dependent on imports, but charging a higher price to accomplish that.

Brad
Other things besides steel/metal necessary to ongoing supply are plastics, ammonia and cement.  Perhaps incidental, but nevertheless.

Requires lots of energy by way of electricity.  Need coal.  Lots.

China relies on Australia for thermal coal.  China has not been accepting or processing coal from Australia for quite some time (a year?).  Lots of fully laden ships of coal sitting nearby which are now only being unloaded (slowly), not because they have decided to like Australia, but because they have to.
Global supply chains disrupted by initial demand drop then local policies on social distancing. The ‘restart’ was anything but coordinated resulting in supply chains being out of phase for many reasons including labor availability, cash flow and logistics resources. 
Certainly an opportunity to reevaluate supply chain resilience and the relationship between cost and value.  
An amp I ordered was supposed to be ready for shipping in October. But now they say November due to parts shortage. 
I am not sure whether I will get it before Thanksgiving.