[arch-general] What causes the 3-5 sec delay before :: running early hooks (udev)?

Guys, After recent updates to 3.4.3 and systemd-tools, etc., I have a new delay on boot. The system just seems to sit for any extra 5 secs or so with a blank screen after switching from grub to start booting. The delay happens before the first line: :: running early hooks (udev) is written to the screen. Does anybody know what is causing this? initramfs decompression? New systemd-tools udev stuff? After updating 3-4 boxes, this delay period is notable. Just curious whether this can be tweaked or eliminated. Thanks for any info. -- David C. Rankin, J.D.,P.E.