OSCEOLA, Iowa, March 26, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Miller Products Company in Osceola Iowa, supplier of stock pins and fasteners as well as precision and Swiss CNC machined parts, has seen a significant increase in the demand for quick-turn and custom machining due to the post-COVID shipping challenges.
One year after the COVID-19 pandemic hit supply chains with port shutdowns, the impact continues to ripple from China through India and around the world. Many manufacturers are still struggling to source parts and materials for their U.S.-based operations. Shortages from overseas as well as price hikes and delays are wreaking havoc with U.S. manufacturing workflows and operational budgets.
With clients reporting overseas pricing increasing three-fold and more, the cost to procure stock pieces from these ports is no longer economical. Production houses, like Miller, who source materials predominantly from the United States are seeing a different kind of post-COVID shock. In the past three weeks, Kerry Richardson, Sales and Marketing Manager at Miller, has booked a handful of new orders based on shipping delays and costs alone.
“We had one client tell us their India supplier pushed their orders back more than three months,” said Richardson. “That’s a supply chain disaster.”
According to a January 2021 feature in The Washington Post (*note 1), “The cost of shipping a container of goods has risen by 80 percent since early November {2020} and has nearly tripled over the past year…” These statistics are based on research provided through the Freightos Basic Index (*note 2).
Miller’s Midwest location and proximity to interstate, highway, and rail lines gives them a boost in supply chain efficiency other manufacturing companies lack.
“The bulk of our materials are shipped in daily from all over the U.S.,” said Richardson. “From steel out of Chicago to aluminum and plastic out of Phoenix and Wisconsin, it’s all accessible and delivered within days from a simple call.”
With an extensive warehouse, Miller’s stock pins and fasteners, used by a variety of manufacturing operations from agriculture to construction, military contractors, and more, can be ordered and shipped within the U.S. as quickly as four weeks. Custom manufactured parts from their precision CNC and Swiss CNC machines can often be turned within a few weeks as well. Compared to three or four month delays from overseas, this makes all the difference for their customers’ operational efficiency.
“After more than 80 years in the industry, through ups and downs, including this pandemic, we know how to make sure our products are cost effective and accessible,” said Richardson.
If you have questions about the Miller Products line of stock pins and fasteners or would like to discuss custom, precision, or Swiss CNC machined parts, please reach out to Kerry Richardson, Sales and Marketing Manager at Miller Products Company at 1-800-245-7034, or email sales@millerproductsco.com.
Learn more at: https://www.millerproductsco.com/
Notes:
1 – https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/01/24/pandemic-shipping-economy/
2 – https://fbx.freightos.com/
About Miller Products Company:
Established in 1936, Miller Products Company is an Osceola, Iowa-based supplier of quality manufactured products including single spindle/CNC, and multi spindle screw machined parts, stock non-threaded pins and fasteners, including a wide variety of lock pins, hitch pins, bent pins, and tension lock hitch pins that are sold throughout the U.S. and international manufacturing markets.
News Source: Miller Products Company