Snow Blowers, Shovels Hard To Come By Due To Supply Chain Issues

FRAMINGHAM (CBS) – As a potential blizzard gains traction up the East Coast, winter must-haves like snow blowers and generators could be hard to come by.

"Normally I get 90-110 units and this year I got 11. That's a production problem," Joe Deignan of Robinson's Hardware in Framingham said of his snow blower supply. "If we get a massive blizzard this weekend, I'll probably be out of snow blowers."

It's not just heavy-duty equipment. Robinson told WBZ-TV that replacement parts are also back ordered. And it's holding up repairs.

"This year, some of our snow blowers are being held onto for two months or longer because we can't find the parts to fix them," he said.

The smaller necessities are also tough to find.

"Ice melt, shovels, batteries, flashlights," Rob Genna of Town Line Hardware in Sudbury, said he's had to switch suppliers for some items. He blames the ongoing nationwide supply shortages.

"We're going to sell a ton of ice melt," said Genna. "The earlier the better, prepare for it."

As we brace for the weekend snowstorm, hardware store owners are surprisingly hoping for one thing – snow.

"I hope the weathermen are right because we need some weather... for business," Genna said.