Supply chain issues could cause snow blower shortage this winter

 

OAK CREEK, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The supply chain issue is seeping into winter products. Snow blowers could be tough to find mid-season. 

Hardware store owners placed their pre-season orders several months ago. Some still haven't received them so they're using residual inventory. 

The best advice this year? If you think you may need a snow blower, get it early.

It was a busy day for Mike Bebow with Kortendick's Ace Hardware.

"It's like snow blower after snow blower after snow blower, you know," said Mike Bebow, Ace employee.

Bebow made 10 deliveries Tuesday, Nov. 30, to Racine homes. 

"So I had three of them were grills, seven snow blowers," said Bebow.

"And people are excited about them. They must be anticipating snow because we've been selling a lot of them," said owner Brian Kortendick.

Kortendick says the rush for snow blowers started a month ago, well before the cold.

"It hasn't snowed yet, so maybe all these snow blowers everyone's buying is preventing that, which is fine by me," said Kortendick.

The supply chain is in trouble and people know it. Store shelves are partly empty, prices are up and deliveries are delayed. 

Kortendick's Ace is fully stocked for now and their warehouse still has a few different snow blower options available.

"I mean at some point we're just gonna run out. You know there's just not gonna be as many available or any available," said Kortendick.

The same is true for the bigger stores. We found shelves here full of snow blowers and electric shovels. 

Retailers say they don't expect global supply chain problems to go away for at least another year, especially if Covid outbreaks disrupt key distribution hubs.