Utah dealer Stephen Wade is running out of pickup trucks—and fast.
Normally he keeps about 200 Ram pickups in stock at his dealership in St. George, Utah. As of this week, he had only 25. The situation is even more dire at his nearby Chevrolet business: He has only four Silverado trucks on the lot and isn’t sure when he will get more.
“We seemed to have reasonable inventory at the end of last year,” said Mr. Wade, who has eight dealerships in southern Utah. “But it’s just gotten shorter and shorter.”
Auto executives and dealers entered 2021 hoping to restock dealerships depleted by pandemic-related factory shutdowns last spring. Instead, parts shortages and other factors disrupting production have extended the inventory crunch, and auto retailers said it could be months before relief comes.
For buyers, there are slimmer pickings, higher prices and longer waits, dealers and analysts said. Many consumers have had to order models from the factory or pick from vehicles still in transit to the dealership, rather than immediately driving their new rides off the lot.
