Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/1418957
26 I PSAI Association Insight, October 13, 2021 Truck Chip Shortage — A Worldwide Issue By Ronald Inman, PSAI Past President We all are living in a time when technology continues to explode into all areas of our lives. In this situation, the trucks we use to provide our services are more and more dependent on computers and electronics. It really does not matter if we are talking about pickup trucks, medium duty trucks, or tractors. All new truck types and manufacturers are in some way affected due to the supply chain back up. The most common reason we are hearing is shortages of chips — also known as semiconductors. Pickups If you are using some sort of pickup to do your work, you may be able to find one or two trucks that will get the job done; it really depends on your luck and determination. You will probably pay inflated prices due to the vagaries of supply and demand. If you use or need many pickups — especially if you are a Fleet Purchaser — you will likely be disappointed with what you can buy versus what you want. One PRO I know of wanted to buy a couple dozen pickups next season that were just like the ones from this year. It was then communicated the same model would not be built at all and they needed to choose a different model or just do without the entire order. In one region of the United States, a Fleet Account Executive (manufacturer representative) was given a task to find out how many ¾ ton pickups would be ordered from the fleet customers in that area. It ended up being over 1,200 total for all customers. After lots of back-and-forth, the management committed to fill just over 200 of those orders. Those orders are also somewhat soft due to depending on continued computer chip supply problems. It is conceivable none of them will be delivered on time. Another fleet sales dealer told me recently they usually have a couple acres of trucks parked to sell to ongoing customers. At the time of that recent conversation, there were six trucks physically on that same lot. If you have been watching news stories, you must have heard some of the horror stories out there over the last year. One worldwide manufacturer of motor vehicles had/has thousands and thousands of vehicles built and parked in every conceivable place they could find waiting to get the computer chips. They are not the only one, and this is an ongoing and fluid situation. If you ask the people that might know about this situation, they do not have any confidence that this will soon be behind us. One fleet sales person told me it might linger for a few more years. (continued on page 27)