On many building projects, the date that decides completion isn't set by the concrete, the steel or the drywall. It's set by a factory. Switchgear, transformers, elevators, rooftop units and generators are built to order, and when their lead times stretch, no amount of site acceleration can make up the gap. The building is finished, the equipment isn't there, and the occupancy date moves.
This guide explains why long-lead equipment needs its own procurement plan, when owners should buy it directly, how pre-purchased equipment is handed to the contractor, and how to track it so delivery dates stay visible.
Why lead times now drive the schedule
Lead times for electrical equipment rose sharply after 2020 and haven't fully recovered. A few published figures show the scale:
- Medium-voltage switchgear. GEP reported in January 2025 that lead times had improved to 26 to 32 weeks, compared with 12 to 16 weeks before the pandemic, and that the producer price index for switchgear rose by nearly 50% between 2020 and 2024.
- Power transformers. Wood Mackenzie reported in April 2024 that average lead times went from around 50 weeks in 2021 to 120 weeks in 2024, with large units at 80 to 210 weeks, and that prices had risen 60% to 80% since early 2020.
- Distribution transformers. An NREL study, reported in March 2024, found that utilities faced lead times of up to two years, roughly four times longer than before 2022, with prices up as much as five to six times in two years.
These figures are mostly about utility-scale and medium-voltage equipment, and the market keeps moving. A dry-type transformer for a retail unit is a different product from a substation transformer. The point isn't any particular number. It's that equipment lead times are now long and uncertain enough that they must be checked with suppliers for your specific items, at the time you're planning, and built into the schedule rather than assumed.
View the data
| Equipment | Lead time | Source |
|---|---|---|
| MV switchgear, pre-COVID | 12–16 weeks | GEP |
| MV switchgear, early 2025 | 26–32 weeks | GEP |
| Power transformers, 2021 | about 50 weeks | Wood Mackenzie |
| Power transformers, 2024 avg | about 120 weeks | Wood Mackenzie |
| Large power transformers, 2024 | 80–210 weeks | Wood Mackenzie |
Which items count as long-lead
Every project has its own list, but the usual candidates are:
- Electrical: switchgear, transformers, generators, automatic transfer switches, large distribution panels and, on some projects, the utility's own equipment and connection work.
- Vertical transportation: elevators and escalators, which are custom-engineered to the shaft and need shop drawings approved before manufacture.
- Mechanical: rooftop units, chillers, boilers, air handling units and specialty refrigeration.
- Building envelope: custom curtain wall, storefront systems and specialty glazing.
- Owner-specific items: security systems, kitchen equipment, specialty lighting and branded fixtures.
An item is long-lead when its procurement time, from specification to delivery, is longer than the time between when it can be bought and when the site needs it. That depends on the item and the schedule, which is why the list should come from a working schedule rather than a generic template.
Count the whole chain, not just the factory
The lead time a supplier quotes is usually measured from approved shop drawings and a firm order. The owner's procurement time is much longer. It includes:
- Design far enough advanced to specify the equipment.
- Tendering or quoting, and award.
- Shop drawing preparation by the supplier.
- Review by the consultants, and often a second round of comments.
- Release for manufacture, then the manufacturing lead time.
- Shipping, receiving and setting in place.
- For electrical service equipment, utility coordination, inspection and energization.
On programs we've supported, the slippage rarely came from the factory missing its quoted date. It came from the steps before the order: late design decisions, a slow shop drawing cycle, or a contractor who didn't place the order until weeks after award.
Elevators and rooftop units need their own attention
Electrical equipment gets most of the headlines, but elevators and rooftop units cause their share of late finishes.
Elevators are engineered to the specific hoistway, so manufacture can't start until the shaft dimensions, capacity, speed, finishes and controls are fixed and the shop drawings approved. Installation also takes weeks on site after delivery, followed by inspection before the car can carry the public or be used for moving in. If the building depends on the elevator for occupancy, or the contractor plans to use it for hoisting finishes, its date matters twice.
Rooftop units look like catalogue items, but custom configurations, controls packages, curbs and structural supports often turn them into made-to-order equipment. They also need a crane day and a dry roof, and they're usually needed to commission the building and condition the space before finishes and flooring go in. A late rooftop unit can hold up interior work, not just the final handover.
Owner pre-purchase: the main tool
When the full chain doesn't fit inside the construction schedule, the owner can buy the equipment directly, before the general contractor is on board. The owner specifies the equipment, tenders it to suppliers, places the order and starts the shop drawing process months earlier than a contractor could.
The benefits are time and certainty. Factory slots are booked early, and the price is locked. The costs are real too. The owner takes on design coordination risk, because the equipment is ordered before the rest of the design is fixed. It takes on commercial risk, because the owner now holds a supply contract. And it has to manage the hand-off to whoever installs it.
View the data
| Route | Order placed | Delivered | Against week 52 need |
|---|---|---|---|
| GC buys after award | Week 36 | Week 66 | 14 weeks late |
| Owner pre-purchase | Week 20 | Week 50 | 2 weeks early |
Assignment to the contractor
A common approach is to pre-purchase and then assign the supply contract to the general contractor once it's appointed. The tender documents for the main contract tell bidders that the equipment has been ordered, include the supply contract, and require the successful contractor to take it over. From that point, the contractor manages the supplier, coordinates delivery and installation, and carries the equipment within its schedule and warranty obligations.
The alternative is to keep the equipment owner-furnished and have the contractor install it. That leaves the owner responsible for timely delivery and for defects in the equipment itself, and it creates an interface the contractor can point to when things go wrong. A typical owner-furnished equipment specification has the owner and contractor agree delivery dates, the contractor record them in its schedule, a joint inspection on delivery, and the contractor responsible for storage and for damage it causes.
Assignment works best when the supply contract is written for it from the start: assignable without the supplier's further consent, with warranties that run to whoever holds the contract, clear delivery obligations and remedies for late delivery. The details matter, so get legal advice on the supply contract and the assignment wording before you issue the order. Our post on choosing a CCDC contract covers the main contract side.
Tracking long-lead items
Long-lead equipment needs its own log, reviewed every week or two, not buried in the monthly report. For each item, track:
- the date needed on site, taken from the current schedule;
- specification, order and shop drawing dates, planned and actual;
- the supplier's confirmed ship date, and when it was last confirmed;
- the float between forecast delivery and the need date;
- who owns the next action.
Ask suppliers for written confirmation of ship dates at regular intervals, not just at order. A date that hasn't been reconfirmed in two months is a hope, not a forecast.
The key number is the gap between forecast delivery and need date. When it falls below a threshold you set, the item goes on the risk register and gets a recovery plan. Each item should also sit in the schedule as activities linked to the installation work, so a slip shows up in the critical path. Our guides to reviewing a construction schedule and three-week look-aheads explain how.
Practical consequences for owners
- Early decisions are the price of speed. Pre-purchase only works if the owner fixes key design parameters, such as electrical service size and elevator capacity, early.
- Cash flow moves earlier. Suppliers often ask for deposits or progress payments on order. Budget for them.
- Storage needs a plan. Equipment that arrives early has to be stored, protected and insured.
- Price escalation is real. Firm prices tied to an order date beat quotes that expire before the contractor is appointed.
What owners should do
- Build the long-lead list from the schedule during design, working back from need dates through the full procurement chain.
- Get current lead times from suppliers for your specified items, and recheck them as design develops.
- Pre-purchase where the chain doesn't fit, with a supply contract written to be assigned to the contractor, and legal advice on the wording.
- Make the hand-off explicit in the main tender: who manages the supplier, who receives and stores, who installs, and whose warranty applies.
- Track every item in a live log and in the schedule, with float to need date reported every update.
The bottom line
Long-lead equipment is one of the few schedule risks an owner can see coming a year in advance. The owners who finish on time treat it as a procurement project of its own: started in design, bought early when the dates demand it, handed over cleanly and tracked every week. The ones who leave it to the contractor's normal buying cycle often find out about the problem when the building is ready and the switchgear isn't.
Want a second opinion on your long-lead procurement plan? Book a 30-minute call with Benjamin R. Consulting.
Sources: GEP, Why the Switchgear Market Is Facing Price and Supply Challenges (January 2025); Wood Mackenzie, Supply shortages and an inflexible market give rise to high power transformer lead times (April 2024); pv magazine USA, A look at the great transformer shortage affecting U.S. utilities (March 2024); NREL, Major Drivers of Long-Term Distribution Transformer Demand; Iowa State University, Facilities Design Manual: Owner Furnished Equipment. The schedule example is illustrative. This article is general information, not legal advice. Get legal advice on your contract and specific circumstances.