Not quite 2 years ago, we wrote an article titled “More Delays, Less Supply & Higher Costs: The Post-COVID State of the Furniture Industry”. At the time, we didn’t realize just how much traction it would get. In fact, that article and our follow-up video caught the eye of producers at FOX 5 Atlanta. As a result, the folks at Good Day Atlanta sent over the I-Team for an investigative report on global supply chain issues. All we were doing was trying our best to answer the questions and concerns of our customers.
The truth is, we were getting absolutely swarmed with questions from anxious furniture shoppers looking for answers. Questions about where their furniture order was and why it was taking so long to arrive. Questions about why prices for furniture increased. And questions about why nobody seemed to have any pieces in stock.
Well, we figured that it’s about time for an update. The supply chain here in the furniture industry has indeed begun to recover, but there are challenges ahead and many consumers still have questions about costs, product availability, and delivery timeframes here in 2023. Read on for our state of the industry update below!
Where We’ve Been: The Recap
In the years leading up to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the furniture industry was incredibly stable. Dare we even say, our industry was a bit predictable. We’d have the same regularly scheduled trade events every so often, manufacturers would unveil new products around the same times every year, and production and delivery times were reliably accurate.
Even the costs of goods were fairly consistent – sometimes not changing for years at a time. Both furniture makers and retailers alike were able to reliably calculate their overhead, material, labor, and transportation costs because these expenses changed relatively little from month-to-month and year-to-year. Then came the economic fallout resulting from both COVID and the resulting lockdowns.
Over the last 3 years, we’ve dealt with unprecedented instability within the furniture business. Wild shifts in supply. Violent fluctuations in demand. Skyrocketing increases in cost for products and transportation. Labor shortages, both locally and abroad.
As a result, every single day, customers want to know if we’re having issues keeping things in stock, what wait times for orders look like, or if we can guarantee delivery dates. If you have questions like these, keep reading for some good news!
[Editor’s Note: Feel free to read our initial article from 2021 for a crash course on the different economic factors impacting the furniture industry, from supply & demand, to scarcity, to globalization and just-in-time manufacturing.]
Where We Are: The Current State of The Industry
Here’s the good news — in the second half of 2022, many of the issues plaguing our industry began to stabilize. While prices, availability, and delivery timelines aren’t back to pre-pandemic levels (and frankly, they might never be), we’re clearly returning to some sort of normal.
For example, we’re no longer seeing wide swings in demand, and our supply of products from vendors is more steady. The peaks aren’t as high, but the valleys aren’t as deep either. Additionally, there’s no longer a shipping container shortage. Throughout 2021 and 2022, our costs per container or truckload of furniture was as high as 5 or 6 times its pre-pandemic amount. Fortunately, we’ve finally seen these costs drop over the last 6 months.
Here in Georgia, our declared State of Emergency for Supply Chain Disruption ended on January 10th, 2023. This is another sign that supply chains are substantially improving. And with some experts suggesting that COVID-19 is starting to become endemic, there are fewer labor disruptions due to infections and lockdowns.
However, there are still challenges. There are still labor shortages, although they’re mostly localized and not systemic. Additionally, there are still production and shipping delays, but these are mostly of the “normal” variety where containers are merely waiting on a full ship or plane to depart. Lastly, while furniture prices have gone up over the last couple years due to increased costs, cost increases have largely plateaued. Any price increases you see in 2023 likely have more to do with inflation of the US Dollar than with industry issues.
Regardless, our industry is in a much better place to take care of customers than just last year. Put simply, it should be easier for you to find in-stock furniture that you love than it was just a few short months ago.
Looking Forward: We Want to Be North Georgia’s Source for Furniture & Mattresses in 2023 & Beyond!
It’s impossible to project what both the furniture industry and the global economy will look like in the next couple years. While it’s possible, perhaps even likely, that inflation will continue, we hope that the rate of inflation will slow and stabilize. It’s also our hope that the market forces surrounding our industry will continue to return to some kind of new normal like they have over the last year.
Ultimately, the road ahead to recovery is long and we do still face occasional issues from supply chain disruptions, shipping delays and increased costs in 2023. However, things within the industry have stabilized and we’ve seen remarkable improvement in just the last 6 months.
Are you in the market for new furniture for your home? If so, now that you’re up-to-date with the state of the furniture industry, you can go forth on your next furniture shopping adventure without worry or fear of the unknown!
Have more questions about the furniture industry, pricing, wait times for deliveries, in-stock products, or anything else? Reach out to us, give us a call, or chat with a real human being using our convenient live chat. Better yet, pay us a visit at any of our North Georgia and Atlanta area furniture and mattress stores. See you soon!
