Since I work in the industry, I can give you some general ideas of what can cause these types of problems.
Problem number one is a problem I do not have to explain to you. Gasoline prices are causing the costs on everything to rise. People are losing their jobs, they are buried under the 'no money down' mortgages and car loans, utilities and groceries are going through the roof and everyone is clamping down on what little wallet they have left. We don't like doing it, but we all must prioritize our spending and things like mortgages, car payments, groceries, shoes for the children, etc. all come well ahead of things like custom cars and/or race cars.
So our customers are not spending what they once spent. Which means I am not stocking the inventory I once stocked. Which means my suppliers are feeling the same crunch and are making the same inventory decisions.
I sell our products to nearly all the major high-performance warehouses in the country. You know their names, you get their catalogs in the mail and you see their ads in the automotive publications. And the story we hear from all of them is the same - business is down as much as 30% - 40%.
I had conversation with Brian, a couple days back. And he mentioned they are feeling the same crunch. I'll not go into the details of the conversation, but they just took a couple of heavy blows below the belt. All because of the economic climate. Was this threatening to Total's continued existence? I am sure it was not. But when you get hit a couple times, you start flinching, because you know you can't keep taking the same hits.
Not a pretty picture, is it? Actually the really scary part is the problems are all very real and very much in our faces.
I realize none of this puts spindles in your hands. But you are not the only one that is upset by the back-order situation. We put food on our own tables when we sell products and turn a profit. When we cannot sell products, the profit goes away. If Brian should read this, I know he'll quickly agree that you cannot eat back-orders. They don't even make a decent broth. And nothing will boil my blood any faster than to make a sale and then not be able to get my hands on the product.
I hope your spindles will not be too much longer in arriving. Patience is not one of my own strong suits.
