2021 was the year of shortages. Vaccine shortages at the start of the year gave way to growing fears over shortages in turkeys, technology, raw materials, and electronics. While some shortages resolved quickly, others appear to be hanging on.
Here’s where we stand in 2022…
Despite some early predictions that supply chain woes would dissipate and inflation would slow, we have yet to see these effects< as domestic suppliers continue to battle with increased lead times for production materials and supplies, tight labor capacity, and increased freight costs.
The biggest uncertainty centers on what happens next but regardless of economists’ original predictions, we predict the chaos at ports, warehouses, and retailers to persist through the year, and perhaps even longer.
A survey by the Institute for Supply Management showed the average lead times for production materials, capital equipment, and supplies all reached the highest records back since ISM began collecting their data in 1987.
While the majority of companies continue to struggle to overcome supply-chain issues and, as a result, increased lead times we have worked hard to reduce our lead times to 8 weeks with the goal of bringing them back to 4 weeks.
With reduced lead times in comparison to other foreign and domestic rubber suppliers, our customers see the benefit of:
We at Sperry & Rice have seen significant recovery from the worst days of the pandemic and our deliveries have continued to improve but we have unfortunately continued to be impacted by higher costs from every angle.
The specific cost pressures have included all of the rubber polymers we use, many of the additives and other chemicals in our rubber, the cost of freight, supplies to support the making of our parts, and the cost of labor in all areas of manufacturing.
To offset the anticipated continuation of supply chain challenges and resulting higher input and freight costs, we have had to increase prices too in order to remain a financially strong and dependable supplier to all of our customers.
We do not take this action lightly. We understand the challenges you have with increasing costs and our team continues to work on internal cost savings and efficiencies to keep price increases as low as possible.
As we continue to adapt to a changing environment, we invite you to contact us to discuss product pricing and lead times.
WE ARE PROUDLY ASSOCIATED WITH:
Sperry & Rice LLC has been in the rubber & sponge business since the 1940s. We are proud to offer innovative engineering solutions, advanced manufacturing processes, and comprehensive quality controls to produce precision rubber and cellular components.
Sperry & Rice LLC specializes in products for the following industries:
