Yes and yes is the answer to the headline for the medium- and heavy-duty aftermarket in North America — and not likely news to anyone involved in these markets. MacKay & Company surveys fleets and distributors of parts every month on a wide variety of issues — some ongoing and some as it pertains to what is impacting the market at present.
In May, 80 percent of independent parts distributors and 90 percent of truck dealers report issues with getting parts. This was up slightly for distributors compared to April but down slightly compared to all of the dealers who reported issues in April. Again, the spectrum of parts they are having issues with is widespread, with many folks just identifying “everything” as primary parts segments where they face shortages.
The shortages have, as expected, hit the fleets as well. Nearly 60 percent of fleets reported issues with finding parts, which has doubled from 30 days prior.
For our latest survey, we probed a little further into what is actually happening and what the impact is from these parts shortage issues. Specifically, are distributors and dealers losing parts sales? And are fleets parking trucks because of this?
[RELATED: HDMA, MacKay & Company say supply chain kinks unlikely to alleviate in 2021]
The short answer again is yes and yes. Independent parts distributors told us that approximately 75 percent of the time when there was an issue in getting a part for a customer, they were able to resolve it by finding another source for the part, providing another option or getting the customer to wait until they could get the originally ordered part. This does, however, mean that 25 percent of the time they did not have the part available and they lost the sale.
