Fabrication family Carlo Fusini started Berkshire Bridge & Iron in 1964. Today, Carlo’s son and grandson run the steel fabrication shop on East Housatonic Street in Dalton. Page 2
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Berkshire Business Journal AUGUST 2024 | VOL. 3, NO. 8
Lots of cars to sell As supply chain rebounds, buyers finding more options
BEN GARVER
Jim Salvie, owner of Berkshire Mazda, said the increase in supply of cars in the past six months forced him to rent off-site lots because his Pittsfield space could not accommodate the volume. He just moved his franchise to 474 Pittsfield Road in Lenox, partly to increase lot space. BY ELLIE DAVIS It was early in the wake of the pandemic, and new cars were in short supply. Berkshire Mazda owner Jim Salvie recalls one customer who had come in was interested in a particular model — in blue — that happened to be in stock. But he wanted to go home and think about the purchase before signing the agreement. “We told him don’t do that because [the car] won’t be here when you come back,” Salvie said. Sure enough, when he was ready to finalize the purchase, that same blue Mazda — and another that was being shipped to the dealership — both had been sold. “He came in and said ‘I’ll take the white one,’ “ Salvie said, “That’s how crazy it was.” In recent months, car manufacturers have gotten back to pre-pandemic levels of car production volume. With more supply, consumers can take more time to shop around, knowing that more options are available at dealerships. CARS, Page 11
Gary Johnson, chair of the Johnson Dealerships of Pittsfield, said local dealerships couldn’t meet demand in the aftermath of the pandemic. “The manufacturer couldn’t get the parts to build the cars and trucks,” he said. THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE