The bat and the F-150 shortages | The Press

The bat that would be at the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic must have been far from suspecting that its coronavirus would cause, 18 months later, a shortage of Ford F-150s on the other side of the Earth. Yet that is exactly what is happening.

We are lucky to live in a land of plenty. To be able to get everything quickly. So much so that if the object of our desire cannot be found nearby, we order it online. What ? Three days of waiting? At the supermarket, beautiful fresh asparagus in the middle of January no longer surprise anyone.

And since availability has become the norm, we don't have too much patience, it seems, with empty shelves. Talk to hardware store employees who are being bullied by frustrated customers. One of them told me in the spring that he got yelled at because there were no more watering cans in the store. “The guy threw down the secateurs and the small shovel he had already chosen. There's a couple who made small milk surges thinking they'd impress me..."

We may have developed sophisticated supply systems, but it is clear that they are not infallible. Many events can have an impact: a container ship stuck in the Suez Canal, a computer attack, an unexpected explosion in demand, two weeks of frost in a hot region, a strike in a slaughterhouse, forest fires near of agricultural land, a pandemic.

All of this has happened… in the last year and a half alone. And I certainly forget some. Gasoline, glue, household appliances, chicken, vegetables, semiconductors, flour, bicycles and tutti quanti have suddenly become rarer.

Now there is a shortage of cars, vans and SUVs. Did you read my colleague Lila Dussault's reports on this on Tuesday? We learned that Ford F-150s that have been in use for two years are worth the same price as new ones because this model is so sought after. Never seen.

The vast dealership parking lots, which are usually full, are empty. That too is unprecedented. Wait times for some popular models, like the Toyota RAV4, reach 12 months. Next, the Tesla Model 3 is a fast option with its delivery time of “only” 8 to 14 weeks!

The problem in the automotive sector is that you can't always wait a year. If our rental contract expires, if our old car gives up the ghost, if a new job or a move forces us to buy a vehicle, we have to find a solution to get around.

How to cope with this shortage?

* * *

I discussed this with George Iny, who heads the Automobile Protection Association (APA) and has been providing advice for three decades on buying new and used vehicles.

The good news, he tells me, is that there's no one-upmanship with dealerships like there is with homes. At the time, I found it curious. But we now know that the implausible can quickly become normal. Would you have believed 2 years ago that houses advertised at $500,000 would sell for $600,000 without an inspection and after just one short 15-minute visit?

Another reason to rejoice, the manufacturers have not increased the suggested retail prices (MSRP). "We haven't seen any cases of abuse," says Mr. Iny, based on an incognito tour of 20 dealerships in Quebec and Ontario. In the mid-1980s, when restrictions on imports of Japanese vehicles caused significant scarcity, MSRPs jumped, he recalls.

Barring exceptions, however, you have to put a cross on the discounts.

Advice now.

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