Supply Chain Disruptions - Pricing & Lead Time Increases

To our valued clients and partners,

The foodservice equipment and supplies industry along with our broader economy continue to navigate evolving challenges, and we remain committed to keeping you informed about factors that may impact your business. Recent changes in trade policies, including potential new tariffs on imported materials and equipment, have introduced uncertainty across our industry. While some manufacturers anticipate cost adjustments, many are taking a "wait and see" approach as federal decisions unfold.

At this time, we do not have definitive answers regarding potential price impacts. However, we want to assure you that we are closely monitoring the situation and maintaining ongoing conversations with our suppliers. Our goal is to give you as much notice as possible should any changes arise.

Valued Customers,

Throughout this past years we have overcome what has surely been the most challenging time our industry has ever experienced. The pandemic put extreme pressure on the entire hospitality industry in ways many were not prepared for – incredibly, we have seen our way through these obstacles and are looking forward to what we hope will be a period of robust activity for all of you.

As you have all undoubtedly been observing in the news and in conversations with your peers, the increased demand on the supply chain, paired with the still recovering manufacturing sectors of our global economy, have created a new and unfortunate situation for prices and lead times on the equipment and supplies we provide to each and every one of you. We are sending you this letter as a notice of these impacts on the goods we help get into your kitchens every day.

As of the beginning of May 2021, nearly every major manufacturer of kitchen equipment and supplies began providing notice of pending increases in their prices starting in May and running through July. The size of increases have varied wildly (most range from between 3% to 10%), and are coming as a direct result of the growing cost of raw materials used in the manufacturing of the equipment and supplies that we provide to you.

Stainless steel prices and lumber prices in particular are the biggest culprits, but other inputs continue to see price increases as well. While we, as well as many economic forecasters, hope that this price increase is only a temporary blip on the radar, we need to be sure we prepare all of you for the current situation. As a result, Rapids cannot provide guarantee of any prices which you have received from us beyond 15 days from the original quote from now until August. If you have any quotes that are more than 15 days old, please call your Rapids representative to update pricing. Rapids is committed to providing the most up-to-date pricing available to ensure you have the correct information in regards to your purchasing decisions.

The continued demand increase coming out of the pandemic, paired with the much larger macroeconomic supply chain issues have also led, in some cases, to significantly longer lead times for equipment and supplies. While every manufacturer and piece of equipment is different, some lead times (especially in popular categories such as refrigeration and fryers) that ordinarily are days or weeks have now stretched to weeks and months. Our expert customer service staff has an extensive knowledge of these lead times, as well as potential alternative manufacturers so that they can help you decide how to best proceed. Our team will be working to communicate any lead time which is significantly longer than usual with you, but if you have tight fulfillment needs please let your Rapids representative know so they can help you right away.

We cannot thank all of you enough for your continued business. While we know that the coming months will be full of great excitement as we open our doors again, we also want to be sure we prepare you, our business partners, for the bumps that come along with this recovery. We are committed to delivering excellence in every single moment to each of you and look forward to helping all of you!