The effects of supply chain holdup on the transmission industry

The effects of supply chain holdup on the transmission industry

Everyone is aware of the current supply chain issues plaguing our industry and many others. Between a lack of raw materials that affect all rubber/paper and steel products and problems with containers at our ports, these are issues that will continue through Q2 of 2022, if not beyond. This is happening during a time when new cars are unavailable (for similar supply chain issue reasons) and people are holding onto their current vehicles, making it somewhat of a boom time for transmission repair. We felt it was important to look at this issue from a shop’s perspective and see how shop owners are dealing with the repercussions of these parts shortages.

Through our conversations with shop owners and rebuilder executives, it became clear that there is an immense domino effect placed on shops once specific parts or materials become unavailable or delayed.

“Parts that were same-day or 24 hours away are now several days,” said Pat Sepe, owner of Dial Transmission in Merrick, NY. “Therefore, the movement of vehicles off our lifts has set our scheduling and completion of repairs back several days. This means vehicles waiting to be worked on are being delayed.”

“I inform customers of the problems in shipping and delivery of parts,” said Rich Dodzik of Avon Transmission in Avon, IN. “[I explain] that this will delay the delivery of their car in a somewhat timely manner.”

There is also extraordinary pressure put on shop owners to change tried and true methods of serving their customers in an attempt to keep jobs turning around in a timely manner.

“I use multiple parts houses including OEs,” said John Parmenter, owner of Centerreach Trans on Long Island. “I spend about two hours a day sourcing parts now.”

Many builders now concur that availability of parts now outweighs the price.

“We use every resource for parts available to us,” said Sepe. “We need to move vehicles in and out, and the customer has to absorb the cost.” Sepe stated that he is “checking on price increases daily.”

 “Unless there is an outrageous price increase, the quote I give [customers] stands,” Dodzik said. “They will be informed if anything changes.”

Some shop owners are turning to reman units when parts are unavailable for a specific  job.

“We do use reman units when there is a time factor in getting parts,” Dodzik said. “Or if the shop is backlogged in the building area.”

“I would use a reman in a pinch,” Parmenter said, “when I have cars backed up.”

Many shops are buying any parts that are available and stocking them in an effort to anticipate jobs that may come in the door. While this may have a “boom effect” for distributors, eventually it will have to level out.

While all the shop owners we spoke to say that they are kept informed of parts issues from their distributors, they all agreed that they have had to go above and beyond to find needed parts, even using dealerships and local auto parts stores for items.

The “any port in a storm” mentality has served all shops during this time.

“Whoever gets the parts here first,” is who will be used for any specific, hard-to-find part, added Sepe.

You May Also Like

How the Ford engine stop/start system affects transmissions

2018 and later Ford Escape vehicles equipped with a 1.5 L Eco-Boost, 2.0-liter turbocharged engine or the 2L VCTi engines, and the 6F35 transmission, have an engine stop/start system. The stop/start feature can be disabled by the driver and will remain disabled after each key cycle until reactivated by the driver. Some Ford Fusion and

Tech-Talk-May-Figure-1

2018 and later Ford Escape vehicles equipped with a 1.5 L Eco-Boost, 2.0-liter turbocharged engine or the 2L VCTi engines, and the 6F35 transmission, have an engine stop/start system. The stop/start feature can be disabled by the driver and will remain disabled after each key cycle until reactivated by the driver. Some Ford Fusion and Edge models will also have the engine stop/start feature. The reason for this was to improve fuel economy and lower tailpipe emissions.

A mysterious shudder: Locating a problem with no fault codes

It was a dark stormy night… well, not really; it was just an ordinary Tuesday. Related Articles – Chrysler ZF8 generations 1 and 2 identification guide – Photo gallery: TCRA Annual Meeting 2023 – California’s Rohnert Park Transmissions is a multi-generational success story On that ordinary Tuesday, a customer came into our store very distraught.

RRfeature-April-23
Chrysler ZF8 generations 1 and 2 identification guide

In 2019, some Chrysler/Ram/Jeep applications that utilize the ZF8HP transmission moved to a second-generation unit with a new designation and numerous changes for better performance and durability. Gen. 1 units are classified as 8HP45, 8HP70 and 8HP90; while Gen. 2 are classified as 8HP50, 8HP75 and 8HP95. Internally, the Gen. 2 transmission had numerous hard

Tasc-Tip-April-Figure-1-Gen.-1-'B'-Brake-Components-1400
Photo gallery: TCRA Annual Meeting 2023

On April 13-15, one of the transmission industry’s most notable events took place, as members of the Torque Converter Rebuilders Association (TCRA) had their annual meeting. For this year, which was the 25th time this gathering has occurred, the meeting took place in Charlotte, N.C. As always, it served as an occasion for industry friends

California’s Rohnert Park Transmissions is a multi-generational success story

Fernando Gomez’s dad got into the business after being in the Army. “It was what he always wanted to do,” Fernando says. But that wasn’t the case for Fernando at first. Related Articles – Kitting keeps us profitable: Aftermarket kit suppliers listing 2023 – GM 6L series no-movement conditions: Analysis and repair tips – 2023

Other Posts

Can the U.S. electric grid power Electrify America?

As the world becomes increasingly conscious about the environment, electric vehicles are becoming more popular. Related Articles – Transmission shops are preparing to work on hybrids and EVs – Dana announces new line of electric transmissions for trucks and vans – EPA proposes new emissions standards to spur transition to electric vehicles In 2022, more

Electrify-America-2
Transmission shops are preparing to work on hybrids and EVs

At the beginning of the year, TD polled the industry on a variety of questions related to the transmission work they do. You can see the full results in our State of the Industry report from March. Usually, we ask the same general set of questions each yet in order to get a sense of

electric car generic
EPA proposes new emissions standards to spur transition to electric vehicles

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed new federal emissions standards intended to dramatically increase sales of electric vehicles (EVs). The sales would be achieved by reducing multi-pollutant emissions, including greenhouse gas (GHG) and criteria pollutants (particulate matter (PM), ozone, nitrogen oxides (NOX) and carbon monoxide (CO) from new light-duty and medium-duty (8,501 to

electric car generic
Vehicle miles traveled rise in early 2023

January 2023 was a good month for travel on the nation’s highways, as Vehicle Miles Traveled rose. As measured by the 12-month moving total, January was up 0.4% from December to 3.181 trillion miles, as shown by the chart below. January 2023’s monthly total was up 5.6% over January 2022, according to the Federal Highway