When will all these price rises on parts end?

IT isn’t news to anyone that prices have been increasing rapidly across the board for pretty much everything we buy – bread, milk and of course, truck and trailer parts. In the past 12 months Australia has had an inflation rate of 7.8 per cent (so something which cost $100 last year will now cost $107.80).

The causation of our inflation across the world varies naturally by sector, but in the case of the transport industry and in particular parts, it has been caused by:

• Limited supply primarily caused by factory shutdowns due to Covid

• Huge increases in sea and air freight

• Increases in running costs for businesses (think electricity, rising wages and rents and more)

When it comes to parts, Australia unfortunately manufactures very few, so the vast majority are imported from around the world. The parts sector has experienced the huge increases in freight and limitations to supply, perhaps more than most sectors, resulting in some very significant increases in prices.

Cameron Black, managing director of Tranzmile, Australia’s leading independent truck and trailer parts supplier, can see however that the tide is now starting to turn.

“After three years of constant price update letters and emails from suppliers, I was pleased to get my first email last week announcing a reduction in prices – in rags of all things,” Black said.

“I was pleasantly surprised by this. We had been talking internally that we hoped that this year things would stabilise, but a reduction in price I must admit was a nice surprise. We immediately passed this on to our customers naturally, and I know we got a couple of comments from customers straight away. No one has been reducing prices, so I was really pleased to say that perhaps we were the first.

WE IMMEDIATELY PASSED THIS ON TO OUR CUSTOMERS NATURALLY, AND I KNOW WE GOT A COUPLE OF COMMENTS FROM CUSTOMERS STRAIGHT AWAY. NO ONE HAS BEEN REDUCING PRICES, SO I WAS REALLY PLEASED TO SAY THAT PERHAPS WE WERE THE FIRST.”

“As a family owned independent, we think keeping a competitive market going is one of our key responsibilities,” Black added.

“As the industry around us consolidates, what we see is our competitors are increasingly being driven primarily by financial considerations alone. They reduce their stock holdings and increase prices.

This might be good for them but is bad for the transport industry.

“We are working really hard with our suppliers to stop or limit any price rises, and if we can, get some price reductions coming through. Wouldn’t that be nice – it will ease the cost of doing business pressure on transport operators which is significant at the moment and only getting worse.”

Black encourages anyone who was local to a Tranzmile branch to get in touch for a price check.

“It costs nothing but a bit of time to make sure you are not paying too much. Simply call or email a list or a competitive quote to your local Tranzmile branch and we will happily supply a competitive quote so we can save you some money!””

Tranzmile operates branches in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney, Townsville and Kingaroy.