I run a business flipping houses and remodeling rental properties. I was talking to the owner of the electrical supply house in our county yesterday and he told me they sold the last 200 amp meter base they had in stock the day before. They were probably one of the last stores in Tennessee that had any in stock. You can't build a house without one.
He also told me our power company has been removing transformers that are feeding barns or workshops. They don't have any spares to fix broken transformers in residential areas so they are stealing them from places that affect the fewest people. They haven't received any new transformers in several months.
The areas affected by the tornados last week are calling utility companies everywhere trying to find transformers and poles to repair the damage but there are very many spares left. He said if that storm had hit our county, he didn't think we would have the parts to get the power turned back on any time soon.
Crazy times ahead.
I don’t know if the transformer itself comes from China but I can guarantee the materials to make them do.
China.we moved the ones for power plants at the rail
We were traveling when lumber prices were through the roof, and we saw about a mile of railroad cars loaded with lumber sitting still on the tracks. This is probably about speculation.
I can say for a fact that most of the transformers and switching equipment is made in china. That is based on 3 people I know who work for DWP. So, the trade embargo aka diesel emissions excuse with china is causing shit to stack up. As others have mentioned, I hope that this will teach us a lesson to buy and build American.