Well I could go déjà vu and write about the third Covid lockdown, but we have been there before so let’s be a bit more positive.

The Automotive sector has rebounded strongly after last year for both car sales and repairs. In fact the most common refrain we were hearing from repairers and suppliers last year was that they were rushed off their feet, partly because of maintenance deferred during lockdown but also we suspect due to more local travelling now we can’t go overseas. New car sales took a hit, but had a good resurgence in January (aided by some delays unloading ships in December).

The challenges this year for both new car and repair sectors are going to be around supply and logistics, we take a look at parts supply in the OEM parts feature in this issue, but the combination of plant shutdowns due to overseas lockdowns, reduced aircraft schedules and port/ship/container congestion is putting the pressure on all suppliers. Through our sister magazine, New Zealand Company Vehicle, we know that delivery times for many popular ute and SUV models are out to 2-4 months from order. Again this has been worsened by initial worldwide underestimates of sales which resulted in reduced orders for components such as the vital computer chips from plants which take time to ramp back up. The recent Japanese earthquake that has temporarily closed one of the main chip fabricators will only accentuate this.

So now might be a good time to shore up your relationships with your suppliers, so you can be at the front of the queue and make sure you keep in touch so you know where any supply challenges that could affect you might be. We know all the major suppliers are working hard to not have shortages, including increasing their on hand parts stock and constantly refining their own supply chains so hopefully we can all thrive and get through the coming months without any major hassles in terms of parts supply.

Cathy