Lead Times Are Increasing

DON’T WAIT!
Lead times are extending for summer 2017

We have seen many yearly increases for summertime orders. Over the past three years these lead times, in some cases, have went from 6-8 weeks to 10-12 weeks. We believe this is because of the low inventory for certain manufacturers. These same manufacturers, in the past, would stock popular products for the summer rush, but now make items with the first in / first out (FIFO) way of doing business.

You would think that this would be tricky due to the rising costs of raw materials, but raw materials are held in inventory to ensure that there is no price increase during the middle of the calendar year. Manufacturers are simply not turning these raw materials into the products in which they produce. It is much easier, and takes up less space, to store raw materials than it does to store actual products.

So we tell our customers, ordering through our parent company in Ohio, to place orders prior to Memorial Day. This should insure a July or August delivery.