As Autumn 2021 arrives, Covid-19, particularly Delta and other variants, remains a major factor in our operations here at UniControl Inc. We continue to be vigilant, doing our best to prioritize the health and well-being of our employees, customers, and the wider community. Your patient support of our efforts to maintain safe and reliable operations amid daily changes in the business environment has greatly encouraged us, and we sincerely appreciate it.
While uncertainty prevails in all areas of the business environment, we continue to focus on actions designed to ensure our ability to keep our business and our workforce safe, and our products shipping out to customers who depend upon us. As stated before, we have adopted enhanced protection strategies supporting these ends and we continue to strenuously comply with all Federal, CDC, state, and local guidelines.
All that being said, we, like many other businesses, are experiencing capacity constraints. In common with many other businesses, we are experiencing ongoing worker shortages, raw material and general component shortages continue or worsen, and import transit time is increasing. Additionally, at the same time that demand for our products is surging, the cost of all of these factors–raw material, components, labor–has sharply increased.
Currently, many of our suppliers are experiencing similar worsening constraints, resulting in delayed shipments to us. We continuously work with our suppliers to monitor and improve their ability to meet our requirements. Even so, the short-term availability of additional materials inventory is unpredictable, and disruptions are likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Many of our loyal customers will note that, for the first time in decades of growth, we have extended our lead times temporarily in order to manage the shortage situation. At the current time, even extended lead times prove to be insufficient in compensating for uncertain material and labor supply issues. We ask that our customers reach out to us with their scheduling needs when problems arise so that we can work together toward optimal results.
Similar to other businesses, increased costs, materials shortages, and labor availability are impacting our product pricing, and will continue to do so throughout the remainder of the year. As we experience both commodity and capacity based price increases from our suppliers, we have no choice but to adjust our product pricing accordingly. Furthermore, we are seeing that supplier price increases to us are generally effective immediately upon notice. Accordingly, we have had no choice but to make price increases to our customers effective immediately upon notice, or shortly thereafter. Please be assured that as the need arises we will continue to communicate with all of our customers to discuss pricing for current and future orders.
As we move through this challenging Autumn of 2021, we will, as always, make every effort to align our priorities with yours, and encourage you to discuss your concerns with us. At UniControl Inc. we are learning the importance of resiliency every day. Despite any and all setbacks, we continue to plan for and position ourselves to achieve and sustain new growth initiatives. Product shipments have reached a record level in 2021, and as always, while we advance toward a stronger, more secure future for everyone, we thank you very much for your business and your confidence in us.