Nearly 40 percent of equipment managers say they plan to spend more on maintenance as supply chain disruptions delay delivery of new equipment and replacement parts.
According to an exclusive survey by Construction Equipment, 39.1 percent of respondents said that they will up their maintenance budgets next year in response to current supply problems. Three of 10 (31.7 percent) said they will increase stocking levels in-house for key parts. The moves aim to extend useful life of machines currently in fleets as both new equipment and replacement parts are delayed by supply bottlenecks.
As availability of new machines lags, equipment managers will also turn to rental to meet equipment needs. One in four respondents (25.6 percent) said that they expect to offset the lack of available new equipment by renting more equipment in 2022 rather than buying new.
Some fleet managers expect to adjust their typical acquisition cycles for next year. Some 19.6 percent said that they will accelerate their purchasing plans in 2022 in order to ensure that the equipment they need will be in the fleet when it is needed. As lead times for new equipment lengthen, these managers plan to place orders months earlier than in the past.
Of the nearly 300 respondents to the survey, 21.4 percent said that they do not know how supply chain disruptions will affect acquisition plans next year.
The supply chain responses were part of the 2022 Annual Report & Forecast survey, produced in partnership with Case Construction Equipment. The full report will appear in the January issue of Construction Equipment.
