2012 Blog
No worries. We are NOT beginning a blog on drivelines here. There are already too many driveline experts.
We do want to touch base with the people using this site, however, and lend some thoughts we have on the parts situation nationwide, even world-wide to some extent.
FACT: Europe has been using modern manufacturing techniques for decades whereas the USA has been slow to upgrade and almost unwilling to add factories to the infrastructure.
FACT: The Euro has been trading for $1.40 US or thereabouts for many years now.
FACT: Currently, all bets are off as to currencies and their values in the coming months.
FACT: More than 50% of agricultural PTO equipment in the USA is manufactured by European factories. We do not have the statistics so the figure could be much higher.
FACT: Last year (2011) parts were more difficult to locate than in the preceding 5-10 years (since 2001) and costs were changing in what seemed like random fashion.
FACT: Lead times have increased and many factories have absolutely zero inventory. They are not making parts until an order is received. (At least it seems this way from our position)
FACT: Our lead times range from 2 weeks to 12 depending on the part.
In 30 years I have seen our prices go down only once; and that was with a US manufacturer in the automotive department.
In other words, costs never go down. They always go up. Occasionally a popular part will be discounted temporarily, but as soon as the inventories decline, you can bet it will be back to the old price or higher. This is the nature of the beast.
For the past 3 years we have reviewed nearly every invoice we've received, line by line, checking for price changes that we were never warned about. Not a month went by where everything stayed the same.
Drive Line Service of Fresno is a contrary company. While most corporations are trying to reduce inventories, we are maintaining or increasing ours. When others are buying big for the upcoming season, we are often times in a reduction mode. We study past usage as well as new products and try to think 6 months ahead.
Other companies concentrate on popular 'A' parts and push to sell large quantities of them. We, on the other hand, seek out that unusual 'D' part that will make the difference between being “in the field” or “in the shop”. Keeping 'A' parts on the shelf is easy. In fact, the more 'A' parts we sell, the more 'D' parts we can afford to carry. Does anyone else look at their inventory this way?
So if you count on us for the unusual parts, please consider buying the popular parts from us too!
We do not believe the equipment market should be treated like the hamburger business. Cheaper is not better and the customer is NOT always right. It does no good to sell someone something we know will not work. So we avoid those transactions like the plague. At the same time, we recognize that some applications do not require the top of the line product, so there are situations when cheaper is acceptable.
Although we have always recommended OEM quality parts and assemblies, we have begun to purchase lower quality parts as well in order to compete and keep our name in front of our customers. Make no mistake. When you purchase a cheaper, will fit, off brand product, you are getting what you pay for. Or, you are not getting what you don't pay for.
In some areas, like constant velocity shafts, we refuse to compromise. In such cases I cannot stress enough the fact that:
LIFE = SAVINGS.
If you pay 10% less for a PTO that lasts one half as long, then you are losing more than just money. You are wasting valuable time.
However, for basic PTOS under 80 HP we now carry a limited supply of off brand assemblies and universal joints made in China in addition to our OEM lines. All you have to do is ask.
We must say again, “It is cheaper in the long run to buy quality.”
More important than price, availability is becoming the real issue. There are so many manufacturers today making different parts to do the same job. It's impossible to keep up. And as this recession / depression / economic difficulty continues, some components will become almost impossible to find.
Remember that the “will fit” companies mentioned above do not have aftermarket support in the first place. Good luck finding clutch components for one of their PTOs. Beyond that, there are just too many “generations” or “models” of PTO shafts for the aftermarket to support. As a small business, our inventory decisions will make or break us, and I can tell you, we simply cannot afford to carry every part that is in the field and will fail this year or next.
What we are doing is planning further and further ahead – to the best of our ability – because lead times are already long and likely to get even longer. We are placing some orders a year ahead of ship date! You can imagine how difficult this is and how crucial is has become that we continue to keep our customers happy. Please understand that this is our livelihood and when we do not come through it is not for lack of effort.
We also recommend that our customers do their best to think ahead. Having a backup PTO shaft for critical equipment is more important now than ever. Any unusual part that you know you rely on should have a spare. And remember, in the case of a true emergency, we have old school machinists who can whittle out parts on a lathe, one at a time. Try finding one of those somewhere else.
No one knows what the future will bring. But we in the real world know that doing quality work, having stock on hand, and being dependable is our only hope for staying in business. The government cannot save the marketplace or the economy. They cannot rescue we worker bees holding up the infrastructure. It is in all of our interest that we each do what we do as best we can. That is what will save our economy.
Good Luck in 2012 ! We'll be here to help!
----------------The staff @ Drive Line Service of Fresno Inc.