From ball joints to engine computers, Chattanooga area auto repair garages are dealing with a shortage of replacement parts for vehicles.
Supply chain problems amid the coronavirus pandemic and the crushing demand for semiconductor chips are putting a crimp in repair work even as prices for parts increase, according to local shops.
"It's really everything," said James Roddy of Rivermont Auto Service on Hixson Pike during a telephone interview about what's in short supply. "Especially electronic parts. Anything with programming."
Davy Corbitt, owner at May Bros Auto Repair on Lee Highway, said Monday afternoon he had just gotten off the phone with a woman who has waited for a month and a half for a part - an electronic brake control assembly.
"It's on back order," he said by phone.
Rick Austin, service manager at Brothers Auto on North Access Road, said it's hard to find all types of parts.
In the past, he said, he could pull up parts distributors and everyone would have the needed piece. Now, one distributor may have one part, but he may really need two of the same item, Austin said by phone.
"Others can't get it at all," he said.
Chattanooga isn't alone with juggling the spare parts problem. Nationally, garages are grappling with trying to find replacement parts.
One issue is that the semiconductor chip shortage has hindered new vehicle assembly, forcing automakers such as Volkswagen and others to curb production. That in turn has led to a stepped-up demand in used cars, prompting people to keep their old vehicles longer. They need repairs, but supply-chain issues are slowing delivery to distributors.
Corbitt said he also has heard there's a scarcity of employees in production plants.
"They don't have enough people in the plant to make parts," he said.
Shops are asking patrons for patience as they work through the snarls.
"The only thing I can say is that I'm at the mercy of the supplier," Austin said. "If I can't get the part, I can't put it on."
Roddy said that, typically, the garage will tell customers up front there's a shortage of parts.
"We make them aware that it could be a little bit longer," he said.
Austin said prices have gone higher, too.
"Supply and demand causes prices to go up," he said. "It even affects motor oil. It's not hard to find, but crude oil prices are going through the roof."
Sometimes, Austin said, customers have had to wait two days to get a part sent from across the country.
Mechanics are hopeful the shortage will ease later this year, but it's unknown at this point.
Craig Fuller, founder and chief executive of the Chattanooga freight market data and analytics company FreightWaves, said by phone he doesn't see real relief in the supply chain until 2023.
"Things are changing by the day," he said. "It's going to be a difficult year, much the same as we saw in 2021."
Fuller said people need to look at the situation through the lens of whether there is transparency in the supply chain or uncertainty.
"We're tracking 85% of the physical economy around the world," he said. "I don't think [the problem] is short term. I think there will be supply chain issues for years to come."
Corbitt said the parts problem appears across the board.
While semiconductor chips have a lot to do with the issues, a simple water pump is hard to find sometimes, he said.
Earlier this month, chipmaker Intel said it will invest $20 billion to build a new semiconductor factory in Ohio to help alleviate the global shortage of chips.
Semiconductor companies diverted production to consumer electronics during the worst of the coronavirus slowdown in auto sales last spring. Global automakers were forced to close plants to prevent the spread of the virus. When automakers recovered, there weren't enough chips.
"There have been warning signs about this for months," said Kristin Dziczek, vice president of industry at the Center for Automotive Research, an industry think tank, to The Associated Press.
It takes six to nine months of lead time for the industry to get chips via a complex web of suppliers, Dziczek said.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.