As many of you know, our aluminum t-slot extrusion industry is one of many that have experienced severe supply chain challenges during the 2nd half of 2021. During this same time, incoming orders have literally jumped as businesses attempt to get back to normal. This led to price increases on 80/20 extrusion products, extended shipping times, shortages, and longer lead times to receive purchased products and parts.

Some Good News
In the last 30 days, lead times for products from 80/20 branded t-slot products have improved slightly. They are still much longer than in the past, and we have a long way to go to get back to normal. Labor shortages are still real impediments, especially with trucking companies across the US. And product shortages and price increases still make headlines each day, but we are hopeful that the worst may be behind us for aluminum t-slot extrusions.

Planning Is Key
We are still receiving regular shipments from 80/20 and direct shipments from the factory in Indiana are still leaving each and every day. But worker shortages and the higher volumes we are seeing as America gets back to work will probably mean that longer-than-normal lead times are here for a while. So what can we do? Planning is key to receiving critical products in time for projects and product roll-outs. In the past, an urgent request for a custom product could be fulfilled in a few short weeks. But going forward, companies will need to add more time in their planning schedules. Custom manufacturers and distributors like F&L are still receiving orders at a much higher pace than normal as businesses strive to make up for lost time. So we are encouraging our customers to get their orders in early and to create realistic schedules that reflect the current nation-wide t-slot extrusion industry situation.

Consider Order Type
Increased orders are great, but when paired with labor shortages, product shortages, and shipping constraints, they lead to longer lead times. But one way to improve lead times is to consider your order type. Custom assembled products take longer than a machined ready-to-assemble kit, and a kit takes longer than ordering stock bars and parts. So for some customers where schedules cannot be stretched, changing the type of order may be an option.

Improvements
We know that many customers cannot change the order type. So F&L is working hard to lower lead times across our entire business while keeping quality high. And we have seen improvements in many areas that are helping us get closer to meeting customer requirements now and for 2022. In the meantime, plan on ordering early and we will get you your products as soon as we possibly can. 

Each day now, F&L is shipping higher volumes of quality products and custom framing product than we ever have in the past. Yet, lead times are still longer than we would like. It's today's reality and we are up for the challenge. Thanks for your patience.