Most of the examples of "I got mine fast" are cases of existing inventory. Metal is a problem affecting everyone and the raw material (slugs and blanks etc) come from China. Chances are good they are sitting out a sea. Once existing inventory is gone then the wait time arrives.
No one likes this, and there is no grand design or conspiracy. The pandemic (whether you beleive in it or not) was a once in a lifetime event that has challenged first labor (everyone in the factory sent home) and then shipping (dock workers and customs staff sent home for months) causing back ups in delviery and then new product supply. This surprises us all because we never seen anything like this before, at least since WW2. The world works on a "just in time" system that cannot sustain any interuptions to supply and countries are so interlinked it affects everyone. A good example of this is GM shutting an entire car plant and production line over a chip shortage, created by a major fire at one of the largest chip manufacturers in the world that happened last year. It took a while to use up inventory but months after the fire, plants are closing. This is exactly what we are seeing in every manufacturing industry. The idea of 100% american made is not true in most cases because that 100% American depends on 100% American raw materials (we cant or dont make due to environmental laws) and 100% American factories and labor (many sub assemblies are done elsewhere to get the price down). In consumer audio, who in the US makes a tube? No one- that business is long gone. Its small,. expensive to do and very dirty using lots of nasty chemicals and creatng nasty waste products that are difficult to get rid of. The EPA wont allow a company to throw MEK out the back door on the ground anymore. Who makes all those little parts on ciuricuit boards? I can tell you, not the US, that's China, Malaysia, Thailand, India and places where you CAN throw MEK out the back door. Maybe some parts can be made in the US (I also build pro audio gear and use US made Jensen transformers) but not enough of them to build the entire piece of gear. If it was possible to build it ALL here, it would cost 10X more than what the market will bear. Who would pay $1000+ for an Apple TV? Or pay $2000 for the cheapest DAC?
The good news is jobs jobs jobs. There will be and is a boom in avaiable work. The economy, flush with paid workers will be spending their money. This will likely continue until the back order hole is filled. I expect that will last almost the entire decade. It will also cause some smaller entrepreneurial businesses to resestablish local supplies, making themselves less dependent on imports, but charging a higher price to accomplish that.
Brad
