By KEA BROWNING
PHOTO: Tim O’Neill is the Store Manager at Cant Bros Home Timber & Hardware. He says that electrical goods like power tools are getting harder to stock.
The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown has caused global shortages of a range of products, especially electrical items.
At the peak of the pandemic it was a struggle to find technological and electrical goods but in many cases those shortages haven’t eased.
“A lot of that was due to people working from home and also when people panic-bought,” said Jay Ewers, Administration Manager at Castlereagh Electrical.
“So they bought extra food, they needed freezers to store it and now there’s a shortage and we can’t get goods in from China.”
A number of local retailers say those supply issues haven’t necessarily alleviated, to the surprise of some shoppers, but most people in the community have been understanding.
“We have customers coming in asking to buy a printer, fridge or freezer and we tell them the wait times, and they try and source it in Coonabarabran, Walgett, Lightning Ridge, Dubbo, all the surrounding areas, and then they realise how widespread it is.”
Business NSW Regional Manager Vicki Seccombe says that these shortages are occurring not only across the region, but around the country.
“The main problem seems to be the small amount of flights coming in,” she said.
“A lot of our products used to come in bellies of planes, but there’s been a drop in that and a change to boat imports on top of that.”
What’s out of stock?
At Cant Bros Home Timber & Hardware, electrical goods like power tools and small and large appliances have been the worst hit by global shortages.
“We’re starting to get told from power tool companies now that items are unavailable until further notice,” said Store Manager Tim O’Neill.
“We’re not even getting an ETA (estimated time of arrival) anymore.”
Mr O’Neill is predicting springtime shortages in lawnmowers and parts, as well as hoses and hose parts.
He says that imported items are arriving more quickly from places like Mexico and Thailand, where the pandemic has had a less significant impact.
“Of the things we’re running low on, it’s almost all imported, and almost all of it is from China.”
A ‘vast range’ of the items sold at Castlereagh Electrical are also out of stock.
“Everything from white goods to ink cartridges are sold out,” said Ms Ewers.
“We’re looking at wait times of up until October for some products.”
She says that the wait times for products are generally similar, and many of the products ordered by Castlereagh Electrical will list an expected time of arrival, but are often extended further and further past their original date.
The lack of a definite timeframe has frustrated both retailers and their customers.
“We’ve had it get to three months and they’ve contacted us and said, ‘sorry, we’re going to have to cancel it, we just can’t provide an ETA, it was supposed to be here and it’s not so we can’t fulfil your order’.”
Can we make it here?
With COVID-19 limiting our import and export capabilities, there is a renewed focus on boosting local manufacturing.
Nothing is off the table, including repurposing a factory in Orange that manufactured refrigerators for 70 years before closing its doors in 2016.
Now, there are plans for the facility to be redeveloped into an aluminium factory, which will produce aluminium components to supply commercial and residential builders around Sydney.
With some of the highest wages in the world, Australian manufacturing can be more expensive but Mr O’Neill believes that Australian consumers would now prefer to purchase Australian-made products, even if it means they have to pay more for it.
“We stock shovels here that are made from Australian steel and Australian timber, and customers will pay nearly 50 per cent more for it than a Chinese alternative,” he said.
Ms Ewers says that more local manufacturing would be ‘very beneficial’.
“Then we’re not in the control of someone else and it could create employment,” she said.
“If there were factories starting up in the region then that’s going to provide employment opportunities for the economy to grow within itself, so we don’t have to rely on other countries for that growth.”
Ms Seccombe says that the pandemic has been a good opportunity to look at where we source our products.
“We don’t manufacture in Australia, that’s going to be an issue,” she said.
“But could manufacturing be part of our recovery, can we support manufacturers to be more competitive and change our consumption habits? That’s definitely something to consider.”
Concerns for the harvest
Retailers also identified a potential shortage during the upcoming harvest season.
Ms Seccombe says that there does appear to be an issue with agriculture supplies and spare parts, in part due to increased demand and supply chain issues.
Phil Gray of Gray’s Auto Electrical says that there have been issues getting items interstate due to COVID-19, but he hasn’t run into major shortages ‘yet’.
“It’s not an issue yet, but it will be, there will be shortages,” Mr Gray said.
“It will definitely affect harvest time, especially with bearings and belts.”
“We’re starting to stock all those things now in the lead up to harvest, and we’re finding that some of those items are short of supply.
“There are a couple of main items that are used in the industry and if there’s a shortage of those, there will be a lot of trouble.”