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Welcome to the Thomas Index Report for the week of July 26th.
If you’re eagerly awaiting a newly purchased office desk chair or living room couch, odds are you’re unfortunately going to be waiting quite a while for your new furniture to arrive.
Fortune is reporting that furniture deliveries are growing increasingly severe, with shipments from brands like La-Z-Boy delayed up to nine months. These delays are reaching unexpected lengths as supply chain and shipping struggles remain unresolved and furniture demand surges amid the pandemic. In March 2021 alone, Americans spent $11.3 billion on furniture and home furnishings, a 12% increase from 2020, according to U.S. Commerce Department data.
On the Thomasnet.com platform, our data confirms this big spike in demand. Searches for office furniture — fueled by the massive shift to remote work — are up 108% year over year. Sourcing for patio furniture, which has become especially popular as people not only spend more time at home but particularly more time outside enjoying their yards and outdoor space, is up 51% year over year. And finally, with people trying to stay comfortable while at home over the past year, searches for upholstered furniture are up 130% percent while wooden furniture interest is up 362% percent year over year.
While these furniture shipping delays are foundationally caused by the continued impacts of COVID-19 on the manufacturing sector and industrial supply chain, they’ve grown particularly bad because of three factors: the winter storm in Texas in February, which knocked out production for key materials like the foam used in furniture cushions, the Suez Canal blockage in March, and ongoing nationwide shipping challenges, including the shortage of truck drivers and continued port congestion.
Patio furniture manufacturers told the Associated Press that they expect the shortages and associated delays to continue until 2022 or 2023, though as lawmakers better understand the importance of fixing the supply chain and take steps to address it, experts are hopeful these challenges will be addressed sooner than anticipated.
I’m Tony Uphoff, and this is the Thomas Index Report.
Image Credit: Thomas Industry Update