What is the lead time on a new trailer?

Current Lead Times

All main approved Ifor Williams Trailers Distributors are currently fully back in Trailer stock.

This means that for the absolute majority of our trailers, you should be able to find any trailer you require, within a day, and without having to travel too far.

Every week, all our Distributors throughout the UK and Ireland confirm their accurate, current stock levels of new trailers. Using this data, we are able to match you to your nearest Distributor with available stock, in the event that your local Distributor does not have the trailer you require in stock.

If your nearest Distributor does not have stock, simply ring:

01490 412626 and ask for a trailer stock check or ring 01244 400 000 and ask any member of staff to find you national stock of your preferred trailer.

In the unusual event that all our entire network is out of stock of a particular model of trailer, any Distributor can order any trailer model or variant and it will be available for delivery from our factory within 12 weeks, often sooner if needed.

Does this apply to Bespoke & Customisable trailers?

We offer a range of bespoke & customisable trailers such as:

• Business in a Box
• Exhibition unit
• Merchandising unit
• Catering unit
• Mobile clinical unit
• Horsebox conversion
• Eventa

For our bespoke and customisable trailers, we will provide an estimated delivery date for you at the time of enquiry and again at the time of order placement.

This delivery date is dependent on the current workload of this specialised manufacturing unit.

Our manufacturing team are currently focussing on reducing lead times from this busy business unit.

It may also be possible that one of our Distributors will have the specialised trailer you need in stock, and we will be able to advise you on this.

What if I am desperate for a certain type of trailer & one cannot be found in the network & 12 weeks is too long to wait?

If you have an urgent need for a trailer variant that cannot be found, our Sales Management team will consult with our Manufacturing Site Leaders to assist you. All Ifor Williams Trailers Manufacturing Site Leaders, Shift Leaders & Team leaders will do everything they can to get you the trailer you need, in the timescale you need it.

This sometimes cannot be achieved faster than 12 weeks, but we will always have tried our best to improve on this.

How are Distributors' stock yards replenished?

All main approved Ifor Williams Trailers Distributors have the ability to order any trailer, 24 hours a day, via their Distributor portal, which is directly linked to our manufacturing system.

This means that any trailer that cannot be satisfied immediately from stock, can be ordered directly from our factories and will appear as a unique distributor trailer order on our manufacturing system moments later.

Not only can our Distributors place your order directly onto our manufacturing system, but they can also request that it is built, and Distributors can book a build slot for 12 weeks’ time. This means that trailer orders placed in July can be planned into our build in October, and orders requested in August can be planned into our build in November.

From this arrangement the maximum 12-week lead time is calculated, and the lead time of 12 weeks is only experienced if all the stock of that particular model is sold out throughout the country.

How are trailers delivered to Distributors' stock yards?

For logistical purposes and to minimise costs, all trailers are placed in maximised load plans from each of our three main advanced trailer assembly, manufacturing sites.

When loads are complete, trailers are then loaded at the manufacturing site onto our contracted haulage partner.

Our Distributors have full system visibility of all their trailers at each stage of the process: when on order, when in production and when standing READY in our logistics yard awaiting shipment.

Our in-house team can also see the exact progress of any trailer build status.

Our bespoke & customisable trailers are slotted into load plans as soon as they are finished.

What can delay a trailer delivery?

All trailers on the planned load need to be ready for the load to leave.

Haulage to Scotland, Cornwall etc may take two days to accommodate legislation surrounding driving hours.

Haulage overseas to European mainland can take around four to five days dependent upon the destination, customs experience and the availability of drivers on the particular route.

World-wide shipping is via containers and dependent upon world affairs. Containers usually take no more than 12 -14 weeks, however this can be severely disrupted from time to time dependent upon world-wide events that are usually highlighted on all news channels.

Payments from Distributors are sometimes delayed. Our Distributors pay Ifor Williams Trailers when their payment terms agreement is due. Payment days are calculated from when the trailers pass beyond the factory gate.

Sometimes, loads can be held on manufacturing sites until payments are received from the Distributor.

If I cannot find a trailer variant in my locality, what should I do? 

Simply give us a call as detailed above and below by simply ringing:

01490 412 626 and ask for a trailer stock check or ring 01244 400 000 and ask any member of staff to find you the national stock of your preferred trailer.

What if I am told anything other than the above regarding trailer lead times?

Please ring 01244 400 000 and report this to a member of staff.

We are aware that false information is being circulated on some platforms by those competing with us for your business and those who are identified as inflammatory or trolls, so simply ignore anything other than the truth, by ringing the company directly.

Our professional team will assist you in finding the trailer of your choice as quickly as possible, and we will update our website and platforms regularly when there is any change to the current lead time position.

We will be monitoring our national stock figures against local Distributor availability daily.