QuickBuild Kit Shipping Costs Increase 5x, says Company

Van's Aircraft has announced a shipping surcharge for certain foreign-made QuickBuild kits, as the costs to bring them aboard formerly cheap container ships have gone up nearly fivefold. 

The surcharge amount of $375 per QuickBuild kit will now be added for kits ordered on or before December 15th, 2021. The charge will only apply to QuickBuild kits, and will not affect standard-build products. Additionally, Van's believes that the change will prove to be temporary, telling customers they don't anticipate that QuickBuild kits ordered after December 15th will require the surcharge. 

In a statement outlining the change, Vans said "The cost to transport each QuickBuild kit from the overseas assembler back to Van’s Aircraft has increased substantially – from approximately $500 per kit a year ago to $2500+ per kit today. This represents a per-kit cost increase of more than $2000 as of the date of this notice." The cost is a side effect of production in affordable contracted centers in the Philippines and Brazil, and the unforeseen rise in container shipping around the world.

Van's apologized for the hike, saying "We’re working to balance our need to ensure financial stability and predictability," and "it’s a difficult balance to strike and we know that our customers are trying to plan their lives around their projects even while dealing with inflation across the board." Inflation is a contested metric, with multiple variations of massaged numbers bandied about by a variety of interests. One recent estimate from Barron's put the effective household CPI around 10.5% in the last year alone, without much relief on the horizon.

FMI: www.vansaircraft.com