This is another tragedy due to this virus. I am sure it will not be the last either. Materials as well as finished products just keep climbing and lead times are rediculous.
Tell me about it!
Our 24-year old fridge died on Wednesday. The appliance dealers we talked to told us that they were declared to be 'essential businesses' so they were open and selling new appliances throughout the lockdown, but the factories that manufacture appliances were all closed, so there is now a multi-month backlog on new stuff. In addition, there is also a shortage of shipping containers.
When we built out house, we planned to reuse the fridge from our old home, but we designed the cabinets in the kitchen to accommodate a fridge two standard sizes larger so that we would have options when the old unit died. Unfortunately, the only fridge that we could find in a local warehouse is the same size as the failed unit, and it can't be delivered until next week. We were able to buy a 'mini-fridge' that we put in the garage that gives us enough a small amount of cold storage to get through until then (and that will serve as a overflow fridge after that).
Wife has been anticipating this for a couple of years, but she's entirely too fussy about what she wants (and doesn't want), and she only reads the negative reviews so she's convinced that whatever she buys will only last a few months. I've told her repeatedly that she would be wise to made a decision and buy a replacement before the old fridge packed up - because if she waited until it failed, she probably wouldn't be able to get a suitable replacement right away. Naturally, she ignored me. Being a husband calls for great patience!