WHY IS SUSPENSION BACKORDERED ANYWHERE?

Suspension is the system of tires, tire air, springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels and allow relative motion between the two. Suspension systems must support both road holding/handling and ride quality, which is at odds with each other.

Major delays have been caused by the current state of global supply chains and the automotive industry. This has affected not only wheels and tires but also suspension products. The future is not looking very bright either.

This article will explain why suspension kits are back-ordered everywhere and how it won’t get any better in the future.

Why is Suspension Backordered All Over the World?

All aftermarket suspension industries are beginning to feel the impact of delays in raw material orders caused by disruptions in the global supply chain. These disruptions are being caused by COVID-19’s global trade and travel restrictions.

Like many tire and wheel manufacturers, aftermarket suspension-focused companies use an inventory system. Also known as “just-in-time“.

This inventory system relies on raw material orders to generate its production schedules. When their raw materials are delayed by COVID-19 chaos, it pushes back their production schedules and, therefore, their finished product inventory.

This means that aftermarket lift kits, coilovers, coil-overs, and lowering springs can’t be manufactured because they don’t have enough. Brands are also at the greatest risk because most companies export their materials overseas.

This won’t affect the suspension brands that carry everything in America.

However, these major suspension backorders are creating longer lead times for innocent passers-by like you.

We can’t tell you, no matter how hard we try to convince you otherwise. This is a new reality, at least for a few more years. The stars will align once again, and life will feel normal.

Which Suspension Brands are Most Affected?

This suspension backorder crisis has affected all major suspension brands.

This includes Rough Country, Superlift and Readylift, ProRyde, and BC Racing, Tein and Eibach.

What does this mean for you?

What does this all mean? You’ll need patience when ordering suspension components from SD Wheel or any distributor of aftermarket suspension products. Suspension products take approximately 4+ weeks to arrive.

This issue is industry-wide, and you should not be tempted to think of other ways to suspend your suspension earlier.

We recommend ordering a new suspension sooner than you think. You can order it when you expect it to arrive, even if you don’t read this.

It’s not possible to be perfect forever. All these kinks within the global supply chain will eventually be untangled, and the world will find its way. Although suspension flows will return to normal over the next few years, don’t be surprised if there are long lead times for suspension until at least 2022.

Look here at the inventory for major lift kits and Coil-over suspension brands.