Many distributors use "A" manufacturer for a number of lines of moulding that they import. Usually 20 or 40 foot containers are imported. If a manufacturer for instance makes 40 profiles for you but you are only low or out on say 6, the order is delayed until you either meet the minimums set by the manufacturer for a given profile or you need to stock up on other profiles to fill the container. (Some freight brokers will consolidate shipments from different manufacturers to import.)
That said, any give distributor may have any given number of mouldings scheduled to arrive at the same time because they are all on the same container.
Now...since 9/11 customs has really cracked down on imported containers. That May date I'm guessing is an educated guess based upon the container spending anywhere from 1 - 6 weeks sitting in customs.
If you take the worst case scenario - 6 weeks - the moulding may already be in country, LaMarche just can't get it yet.
Also, keep in mind that many Italian manufacturers are hurting and in some cases going out of business. Because of the cost of raw lumber and the exchange rate between the dollar and Euro, they are not keeping raw materials on hand like they used to thus further delaying the orders.
Just thought everyone would like a distributor / importers perspective, even though this has been covered before.
