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t Bus Sales 00 Friday, July 15, 2022 Jorge de la Nuez Transportation Manager Transportation Trust City of Sunny Isles Beach 18070 Collins Avenue, 3rd Floor Sunny Isles Beach, Florida 33160 i delanuezna.sibfl. net Dear Jorge: This letter is in reference to the delivery time of Shuttle Bus that you have on order with Texas Bus Sales. Between the time of the order submittal, there have been very significant chassis delays with the chassis manufacturer. These delays have obviously made it impossible for Texas Bus Sales and Forest River to meet the stated delivery time. The delivery time was stated in good faith but, due these circumstances which are beyond our control, the lead time for the delivery of the vehicles could be as long as another 270 days. Here is why, As the world shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many factories closed with it, making the supplies needed for semiconductor chip manufacturing unavailable for months. Increased demand for consumer electronics caused shifts that rippled up the supply chain. Auto manufacturers, like Ford, have to predict the amount of chips they will need to produce their cars, trucks and specialty vehicle chassis and order them in advance from one of the chip manufacturers. As of now, it can take at Least half of a year for a chip order to come in. The current demand for chips is so great that manufacturers can't make enough chips to meet it at this time, meaning consumers are seeing higher prices for less goods. Bad decisions by the auto industry also added to the shortage. When COVID started, many companies canceled their orders for chips because they assumed the economy was about to take a lengthy hit. Auto manufacturers in particular cancelled orders, so chip companies switched to making chips for consumer products, attempting to meet the explosive demand caused by the pandemic. Having retooled their plants to make chips for consumer goods instead of cars, a shortage of car chips ensued. The chip shortages that are causing chassis' shortages were devastating to many of the bus manufacturing plants. After being in central Kansas since the 1950s, ElDorado Bus, once known as "AMERICA'S BEST BUS VALUE" closed its facility in Salina. Their massive plant was the most advanced shuttle plant in America. The closure was because of a reduction in business caused primarily by the COVID-19 pandemic. A portion of ElDorado's production was moved to the Champion Bus plant in Imlay City Michigan. This plant had a 194,000 -plus square foot building and property encompassing 73 acres. In 2020, ELDorado Bus and Champion Bus were sold by REV Group to Forest River, a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary. At the time of the acquisition, Forest River had high praise for Champion and ELDorado's "historic and iconic brands." In December 2021 Forest River's closed the Champion Plant saying the ongoing shortage of bus chassis within the automotive industry was the sole reason for shuttering the plant. As a result, all operations in Imlay were consolidated and moved to Forest River's existing facilities in Elkhart, Indiana. Ultimately about eight Bus Manufacturing Plants that employed almost 4,000 employees have been reduced to one plant with about 250 employees. TRANSPORTATION SOLUT/ONS, EXPERIENCE IS THE DIFFERENCE www.texasbussales.com 1605 West 34th Street - Houston, Texas 77018 -713-681-3600 1210 Hallmark Street — San Antonio, Texas 78216 -210-349-6500