Robinson Helicopter Operators Should Prepare for Significant Spares Price Jump in 2022
As we enter the final quarter of 2021, Rotorcorp has prepared its annual maintenance planning guide which is designed to provide Robinson helicopter owners, operators and maintainers who are approaching life limit or calendar overhaul with the information needed to make informed decisions associated with this major expense. Along with your organization’s maintenance budget and operational considerations; factors like factory lead times, annual price increases, group order dates and tax year expensing can play an important role in planning and optimizing major year-end purchases. Special consideration is also given this year to the influence of labor and raw material shortages, logistics delays and inflationary pressure which is anticipated to be reflected in 2022 pricing updates out of Robinson Helicopter Company.
Robinson Lead Times
The year end is typically Robinson’s busiest season, and accordingly, overhaul kit leads times tend to increase as the with the approach of the holidays. While Robinson has not experienced any COIVD-related closures in 2021, according to Lead Customer Service Representative Frank Nieto:
“We continue to run into the same problems most major manufacturers are right now with our supply chain, manpower, vendor delays, etc., and we expect this to continue through the end of the year.”
Nieto stated that he expects current R22 and R44 Overhaul Kit lead times to run toward the 8-10 week mark with R66 kits available somewhat sooner at 4-6 weeks. These lead times may extend in December and January ahead of annual price increases.
Annual Price Increase & Forecast
While prices are always subject to change, Robinson Helicopter Company publishes updated annual retail prices in mid-January of each year. For the past decade, the annual price increase for overhaul kits has averaged 2.3% with an effective publication date around January 15th each year. However, considering the previously stated factors of supply chain and labor shortages coupled with inflationary pressure across the economy, a significant jump is expected for 2022 to help Robinson recapture these costs.
Indeed aircraft engine manufacturer Lycoming announced a 13% price increase in July of 2021 to try and keep up with its spiraling costs of production. Rotorcorp has applied its typical formula used in years past and is projecting an approximate 7.5% bump for 2022 overhaul kit prices.
The “forecast” 2022 prices are for estimation purposes only and are not in any way approved or authorized by Robinson Helicopter Company. The method to calculate these forecasts relies on historical data and takes into consideration larger trends like global fleet demand, material costs, labor costs, and data from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Greater Los Angeles area for 2020 to date. Actual prices will not be published by Robinson until January 2022.
Group Orders
As one of the largest buyers of Robinson parts, Rotorcorp routinely places large scheduled orders consisting of multiple large customer orders. These scheduled group orders create opportunities for us to provide an even larger discount to our customers who participate in each one. Considering the longer lead times and planning required, electing to participate in one of Rotorcorp’s scheduled Group orders is a great way to save significantly over our everyday low prices.
Our remaining Scheduled Group Order dates are as follows:
October 15th, 2021
November 13th, 2021
December 8th, 2021 (Final calendar 2021 order)
January 10th, 2022 (Final order with 2021 prices)
In addition to our scheduled group orders, Rotorcorp also processes several ad-hoc orders between the published dates. If you are interested in learning more about the upcoming year-end opportunities for your parts needs, or if you would like to discuss your options and receive a quote, please contact Rotorcorp today at orders@rotorcorp.com or via telephone at +1 404-424-9105 or via WhatsApp at +1 404-991-4208.
