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So, something I’ve been wondering here. USPS cites an unavailability of transportation as the reason, and apparently rental car companies are having a rough tim

by SllX 5y ago

So, something I’ve been wondering here. USPS cites an unavailability of transportation as the reason, and apparently rental car companies are having a rough time of it as well. Is there a lot of deferred maintenance on vehicle fleets that’s catching up to us now? Lack of parts? Maybe some tie to the chip shortage of all things seeing as how automobile manufacturers are also having to shut down plants due to a lack of chips?

bombcar 5y ago
I doubt many cars are driving to New Zealand even for mail. So whatever planes normally carry the mail must be unavailable, as it doesn’t appear to be saying the countries are refusing it.
jnsie 5y ago
This article [0] may shine some light on what is impacting rental car companies. [0] https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-09-13/car-rental-problems-persist-until-at-least-2022 https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-09-13/car-rental...
vharuck 5y ago
I liked how another poster explained rental car business models, and how the pandemic royally screwed them: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28568896 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28568896
judge2020 5y ago
In most cars you don't often see anything that would require replacing a computer chip-enabled part. From BLS, "air-conditioning repair/electrical system repair" and "Vehicle audio and video equipment" accounts for <4.5% (presumably based on rounding to 0%) of all vehicle repairs, with <0.5% being attributed to audio/video equipment. https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-3/americans-aging-autos.htm#:~:text=TABLE%201-,Average%20expenditure%20and%20frequency%20reported%20for%20various%20types%20of%20maintenance%20and%20repair%2C%20by%20average%20age%20of%20vehicle,-(s)%2C%202012 https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-3/americans-aging-autos....
jdavis703 5y ago
I’m assuming transportation either refers to ocean liners (doubtful since they’re slow), but most likely air travel. Airlines sell unused cargo space. With decreased international travel I assume airlines have less unused cargo space to sell.
1MachineElf 5y ago
>Lack of parts I'm not sure if the situation has improved or not since last month, but lack of replacement air lines required by trucks has been a brewing problem for the freight and transportation industries. Previously discussed: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28476934 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28476934
kpasv 5y ago
Lot of issues. Different countries , airports and ports have different vacination/quarantine requirements. That keep changing from day to day. Imagine most of your ships, planes, pilots or seafarers getting sick or stuck in quarantine somewhere or the other for almost a year now. Things get better as govts wake up to such non uniform policies. In the mean time expect all kinds random break downs.
acjohnson55 5y ago
A lot of industries got hit by whiplash. They were assuming a pandemic would spark a massive recession and contraction in demand, so they cancelled orders for supplies, shut down production, and battened down the hatches. But due to truly historic government intervention, and reduced demand for in-person services, consumers actually had a huge amount of money to spend on manufactured goods and demand very quickly shot up. Combine this with ongoing disruption of the supply chains due to outbreaks, and we have an unbelievable clusterfuck in goods with deep, global supply chains.
toast0 5y ago
> Is there a lot of deferred maintenance on vehicle fleets that’s catching up to us now? Lack of parts? Maybe some tie to the chip shortage of all things seeing as how automobile manufacturers are also having to shut down plants due to a lack of chips? Lack of mechanics might be bigger than lack of parts; I haven't heard of any unusual service parts shortages (I had a long wait for a replacement door chime, but seems within the usual FCA tom-foolery), but my local dealer is down several mechanics. And my local independent service shop is booked out quite a bit farther than they were in 2019.

by SllX 5y ago

bombcar 5y ago

I doubt many cars are driving to New Zealand even for mail. So whatever planes normally carry the mail must be unavailable, as it doesn’t appear to be saying the countries are refusing it.

jnsie 5y ago

This article [0] may shine some light on what is impacting rental car companies. [0] https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-09-13/car-rental-problems-persist-until-at-least-2022 https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-09-13/car-rental...

vharuck 5y ago

I liked how another poster explained rental car business models, and how the pandemic royally screwed them: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28568896 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28568896

judge2020 5y ago

In most cars you don't often see anything that would require replacing a computer chip-enabled part. From BLS, "air-conditioning repair/electrical system repair" and "Vehicle audio and video equipment" accounts for <4.5% (presumably based on rounding to 0%) of all vehicle repairs, with <0.5% being attributed to audio/video equipment. https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-3/americans-aging-autos.htm#:~:text=TABLE%201-,Average%20expenditure%20and%20frequency%20reported%20for%20various%20types%20of%20maintenance%20and%20repair%2C%20by%20average%20age%20of%20vehicle,-(s)%2C%202012 https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-3/americans-aging-autos....

jdavis703 5y ago

I’m assuming transportation either refers to ocean liners (doubtful since they’re slow), but most likely air travel. Airlines sell unused cargo space. With decreased international travel I assume airlines have less unused cargo space to sell.

1MachineElf 5y ago

>Lack of parts I'm not sure if the situation has improved or not since last month, but lack of replacement air lines required by trucks has been a brewing problem for the freight and transportation industries. Previously discussed: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28476934 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28476934

kpasv 5y ago

Lot of issues. Different countries , airports and ports have different vacination/quarantine requirements. That keep changing from day to day. Imagine most of your ships, planes, pilots or seafarers getting sick or stuck in quarantine somewhere or the other for almost a year now. Things get better as govts wake up to such non uniform policies. In the mean time expect all kinds random break downs.

acjohnson55 5y ago

A lot of industries got hit by whiplash. They were assuming a pandemic would spark a massive recession and contraction in demand, so they cancelled orders for supplies, shut down production, and battened down the hatches. But due to truly historic government intervention, and reduced demand for in-person services, consumers actually had a huge amount of money to spend on manufactured goods and demand very quickly shot up. Combine this with ongoing disruption of the supply chains due to outbreaks, and we have an unbelievable clusterfuck in goods with deep, global supply chains.

toast0 5y ago

> Is there a lot of deferred maintenance on vehicle fleets that’s catching up to us now? Lack of parts? Maybe some tie to the chip shortage of all things seeing as how automobile manufacturers are also having to shut down plants due to a lack of chips? Lack of mechanics might be bigger than lack of parts; I haven't heard of any unusual service parts shortages (I had a long wait for a replacement door chime, but seems within the usual FCA tom-foolery), but my local dealer is down several mechanics. And my local independent service shop is booked out quite a bit farther than they were in 2019.