An empty warehouse. Manufacturer back orders for standby and portable generators total tens of thousands of generators.
Shipping Delays are Affecting All Distributors, Retailers, and Purchasers
Consumers and Businesses alike experience long wait times after they order a generator. Unprecedented delays in the manufacturing process have consumers waiting up to 12 weeks or more for residential generators that previously shipped from our warehouses in 1-2 days.
“Norwall is seeing long lead times from all the manufacturers,” said Travis at Norwall PowerSystems. No one sees an end to the longer lead times. At least, not in the near future. Norwall currently advises shipments at 1-12 weeks for the most common generators, including air-cooled home standby, liquid-cooled standby under 50kW, and many portables.
It’s a common complaint on social media these days. A generator ordered two months earlier has not arrived. Late last summer, manufacturers alerted retailers and distributors to short delays. Promised shipment dates came and went. Promised generators in-route to warehouses never arrived and manufacturers pushed back the shipping dates.
The top five generator manufacturers report order backlogs in the tens of thousands of generators. The issue isn’t going away anytime soon.
Global Pandemic + Severe Weather = Increased Demand
As much of the country switched to a “work-at-home” business model, some people became more aware of the power outages that affect everyone throughout the country. The power goes out and the internet connection goes with it. Work at home grinds to a halt. The obvious solution is a backup generator.
Severe weather coupled with the pandemic added to demand.
The 2020 Hurricane Season was the most active on record. A record breaking 31 tropical cyclones with 30 named storms exceeded all previous records and produced 13 hurricanes, including 6 major hurricanes. 16 tropical storms and hurricanes made landfall on the United States or came close enough to cause power outages. It was only the second season on record to exhaust the list of names for the year and finish the season by using the Greek Alphabet to name storms.
California continued to enforce blackouts to prevent wildfires.
Winter arrived with the usual ice storms and blizzards and the associated power outages and continued to push high demand as factories changed production lines to produce new models for the coming year. Consumer ordering continued unabated and back orders increased.
Factory Production Suffers Under Social Distancing Guidelines
So many people out of work, it would seem easy to hire labor. But that has not proven true. Manufacturers are finding it difficult to hire workers and so are business offices, retailers, and grocery stores. Companies looking to hire and not offering a “work-from-home” position can’t fill positions fast enough. When they do hire someone, chances are that person will receive a better offer from someone else and won’t show up for work. It’s happening every day.
Some people are afraid to work in a factory or office environment. They’ve been told for the past year to stay home and stay away from other people. No one wants to contract COVID-19.
Best Options for a Backup Generator
Norwall has a limited inventory of portable generator models. Check the In-Stock Generator Catalog and order while supplies last. Keep in mind that recent winter storms caused additional delays. In-stock generators should ship within two weeks.
We do not charge your account until we are ready to ship.
The Cummins P4500i Portable Inverter Generator is in stock while supplies last.
Norwall has limited inventory on liquid-cooled generators 50kW and up are available.
You probably won’t get a standby generator this week. The 2021 Hurricane Season is less than three months away and will certainly increase demand. The best strategy right now is to join the Norwall Club, order your generators, and wait. Most standby generators should ship in 1-12 weeks if the manufacturers deliver on time.
If you can’t wait, order one of the available portables and use until your standby generator arrives.
