Why are my parts taking so long to arrive?

The movement of goods around the world are coming up against supply chain bottlenecks caused by surging demand for retail goods and pandemic-related lockdowns.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been blamed for so much but it really has had a massive impact on why getting some parts for your motorhome / caravan is taking so long.

Many of the factories that produce the parts have had severe disruption with many staff off sick making it extremely difficult for normal operations.  It's easy to forget here in New Zealand just how much of an issue COVID was elsewhere in the world.

Logistics companies have also struggled to maintain normal operation.  So even when the parts are ready from the factory there are delays in getting them to the shipping company.  Once on a ship you’d think your parts are well on the way and will arrive in only a few weeks.  Unfortunately this isn’t quite the case at present.  

Container ships have set routes they follow dropping off and picking up as they go.  They have had to battle with different countries' policies on COIVD which have impacted massively, especially China, who earlier this year, announced a zero tolerance policy which closed all borders.  This created a very significant backlog of ships waiting to off load and pick up.  In fact the backlog was expected to take 3 months to clear if they work flat out.  Some ports are now running 24/7 to try and alleviate some of the back log.  

Our suppliers are quoting us approximately 2-4 months for shipping from Europe to NZ, and in some cases even longer.

The image above this article is a snapshot of all commercial shipping as of today, shown on a map.