In my business, a good many of the tires are shipped to the distribution warehouse by rail. If there is any disruption in rail service ( derailments, auto collisions, spills, flooded tracks, barges hitting bridges, etc), it does back up our delivery schedules.
I'll never forget the dock workers strike from several years ago. We had a bunch of tires sitting in California ports (or still on the ships themselves), that we couldn't get, because of the strike. That made me change the whole way I did business after that. I don't keep all my eggs in one basket now.
I was late getting one shipment of tires for 2 weeks, because a semi truck driver decided to quit his job.......and left my load of tires along with his companies truck on the west side of Texas somewhere. They eventually got another driver to pick it all up.
It's like Mike said above, it doesn't take but one link in the chain to break, to bring it to a stop. There are just so many things that are out of your hands, that can disrupt a business's flow. The examples above are just a few that have bit me.......I can just imagine how many a manufacturing plant (like Tmanor and their parts chain) could possibly have.
I know when you are really wanting something, that it seems like Murphy's law shines the brightest. Anything and everything, can and will go wrong.
When you do get that trailer, I'm sure all your recent frustration will be a distant memory. If it's any consolation, we do understand your anxiety here.
