What's Going on With the Furniture Industry?

by Nick, Digital Specialist | April 5, 2021

If you've been furniture shopping recently, you've likely heard about all the delays in our industry. But what's causing them? This article gives a little more insight about what's making your furniture order take so long.

If you’ve been shopping for furniture lately, you’ve probably heard some version of this story: “everything is taking longer than usual.” Unfortunately, this has become a fact of life for furniture retailers recently- stores are quoting lead times in terms of months instead of weeks, manufacturers are pushing back their ETAs further and further, and furniture that’s in stock is getting harder and harder to find.

What’s causing all this to happen? It’s basically been the perfect storm of factors:

- COVID. Retailers are tired of telling people about this as much as their customers are tired of hearing about it, but this was one of the first factors that affected supply and lead times. Manufacturing plants were forced to work at significantly reduced capacity in order to accommodate social distancing or had to close entirely, even as orders were still flowing in. This created an unprecedented backlog of orders that took many manufacturers months to work through.

- Unprecedented demand. With so many people working from home, the home has become a new focus for many families. Comfort is more of a priority than ever, and many people are investing in their homes that may not have if the circumstances were different. In addition, many families have extra disposable income that they may have used to go on vacation, attend concerts or sporting events, or even go out to eat. This money is being invested in the home- a recent article from FurnitureToday.com says that new orders for furniture were up 27% in January compared to last year. This is the eighth straight month that furniture sales have increased by double digits.

- Backlogs. When you combine the above two factors, it creates an unparalleled and extraordinary backlog of orders. While new orders were up 77%, shipments of furniture rose only 7% for the same time period. This is a way of saying that while orders are up, shipping is not. Manufacturing backlogs are up 177% from January 2020 to January 2021. In the past, most retailers were able to promise furniture delivery in several weeks if it had to be ordered; now, it is taking several months for it to arrive!

- Inventory Shortages. Manufacturers can only make their furniture so fast- and that capacity has been reduced, as outlined above. When combined with the increased demand that we’ve already mentioned, a store’s inventory can be depleted very quickly. The result can be a very limited number of choices for a customer who is looking for something quickly, or unreasonably long wait times if something has to be special-ordered. In so many cases, furniture is being sold faster than it can be brought in.

- Natural Disasters. If you recall, there was a snowfall in Texas in February that crippled a large part of the state for several days. One of the places that was affected by this storm was a plant that manufactures foam for seat cushions- one of the only plants of its kind in the country. As you can imagine, this affected every manufacturer that uses this plant, pushing back time frames even further.

- Logistical issues. On top of all these other issues, trucking and logistics are backed up as well. We’re not referring to the trucking that takes your furniture to your home- we’re referring to the logistics of taking your furniture from the manufacturer to the retailer. According to William Cassidy, Senior Editor of joc.com (a leader in container shipping news and analysis), three factors are leading to delays:
  - High demand for some essential goods, causing long back-ups and congestion
  - Shippers and receivers screening visitors for COVID-19
  - Fewer dock and warehouse workers

To put it very simply, if you look at it from a supply-and-demand standpoint, there is a ton of demand and not a lot of supply. It results in longer (and often unforeseen) lead times, resulting in frustration on the parts of the retailer as well as the consumer. The fact that the situation is changing every day makes the problem even worse, creating the impression that a retailer might not be telling the truth, even if they were working off information that was correct at the time.

Our recommendation? Patience. This is just the way the industry is right now, and nobody is immune to it. Hang in there- your furniture will come!