Going into the fourth quarter, we continue to see increased lead times on electrical and mechanical equipment. More so on the electrical side, where medium voltage gear, switchboards, and generators are anywhere from 60 to more than 100 weeks out. Projects where this equipment is on the critical path will require owners to commit to early procurement package funding in order to get these materials on time and be able to meet critical schedule milestones, such as permanent power on and conditioned air to start finishes.

The current standard is that vendors will require payment in full before the orders can be accepted (and placed in line) by the manufacturers. No one will guarantee any lead times at this point and all quoted lead times are subject to (and likely to) change mid-stream of the production process. Unfortunately, these delays are not foreseeable and are not preventable by Austin nor our subcontractors. It is important that we relay these conditions up front to our owners and design teams in order to be preemptive and ensure there are no surprises later in the project.