Longtime owner-operator Bill Ater reached out early this month with a concern around parts availability for his 2000 Freightliner FLD, powered by a Series 60 Detroit motor. While he'd not seen particularly severe difficulty in that regard, he was "having trouble finding parts at times," he said, and worried about having to tap a "last resort" in various salvage yards. "Sure glad I have an older truck and trailer."
Among items Ontario, Canada-based L.F. Mattice Farms and Trucking has been having difficulty procuring include some specific to those more late-model power units than owner-operator Ater's 2000 model: "NOx sensors and DPF/exhaust gaskets/clamps are unattainable," Brent Edmonson told Overdrive sister publication CCJ. Edmonson's a tech with the fleet's shop. "Dealers called the fleet shop I’m at begging to buy ours back in the spring. Filters have especially been hard to come by."
Other items are common across most any age of truck. "Every day we realize something else is hard or impossible to get," Edmonson added. "Bulk 10w30 [engine oil] isn’t currently available in our area, and barrels or pails are about a month wait."
Edmonson noted he had to wait a week for 18-inch brake chambers, and several weeks for stainless flange covers for taillights.
Supply chain and building material constraints have hampered new truck builds for much of the year, as has been previously reported, but a similar effect is also being felt by owner-ops and carriers who simply want to service the truck or trucks they already have.
[Related: Some signs of improvement in manufacturing delays as truck orders continue surge]
Volatility in steel and rubber prices has impacted the availability of tires and forged parts like blocks and housings, and lead times for parts that used to be a few days can drag on for weeks.
