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.
That's what I have been thinking. I am not sure about large transformers but some of the things people are talking about shouldn't be difficult to manufacture. I would imagine the machinery needed to manufacture these items is equally hard to get. Unless we re-purpose old machines to make them or even re-purpose the machines to manufacture the goods that are needed.