Electronics buyers say leadtimes are starting to stretch on many items. One reason: Distributors seem to be holding less stock. "I am unable to get some parts without a factory leadtime," says one buyer. There are several complaints this month about difficulties sourcing older parts, suggesting producers may also be attempting to boost profitability by accelerating obsolescence. Contract manufacturers, meantime, appear to be struggling with "brain drain" resulting from layoffs they were forced to make over the last year. Both connectors and power supplies receive repeat mentions under "supply headaches" and "notable price increases" this month. However, according to leadtime and price outlook data for these items, the troubles appear to be confined, at least for now, to an unlucky few. Other items cited as supply headaches: A/D converter chips, analog ICs, blowers, crystals, custom-made items (especially PC boards), fiber optic materials, oscillators, power ICs, power management devices, power supplies, relays, resistors, sensors, tantalum capacitors, transistor modules.