If you’ve been on the hunt for furniture lately, you’ve probably been wondering…
Why the long lead times?
If you’ve been on the hunt for furniture lately, you’ve probably been wondering…
Why the long lead times?
Well, when all of us were forced to do nothing else but to spend time in our homes, it had a drastic impact on our values, and what we see as important. The importance of our surroundings, especially our humble abodes, were all put to the test. If we didn’t absolutely love a space, we went out of our way to revamp it, or curate a space that we love to spend time in. The effects of this global shift taking place worldwide, is now seeing its effects on the home furnishings industry as a whole.
Furniture, in particular, is seeing demand like it’s never seen before. We are trying to help so many of you achieve the final result you’re hoping for. But while we do this, it’s important to note what’s happening worldwide, and what to expect when you place an order through CF Interiors, or any home furnishings company, for that matter. Here are just a few of the obstacles we’re facing lately, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the influx of demand industry wide, furniture vendors across the globe are experiencing delays like never before. Need more information to relay to clients? Here’s a list of reasons:
01.
WORLDWIDE MATERIAL SHORTAGES
Thanks to the pandemic, shortages of materials such as wood, foam, fabric and metal, to name a few, are at an all time shortage. Because of this, materials required to make furniture are getting harder to source, and therefore, causing lead times for specific items to reach upwards of 30-40 weeks. Yes, you read that right - over 6 months!
02.
PRODUCTION FACILITIES ARE OPERATING AT HALF CAPACITY
Our overseas manufacturers have been working tirelessly throughout the pandemic. Many production areas have been hit hard with COVID, and when one person contracts the virus in a production facility, the entire factory is shut down. To help prevent the spread of the virus, production facilities now operate at limited capacity, to ensure workers are socially distanced within the facility. This results in slower production time, with less employees to manufacture the goods.
03.
VENDORS ARE SHORT STAFFED
Many of our vendors have grown beyond their control, and are therefore short staffed. Vendors are having trouble finding skilled labourers, and their veteran labour workers have since retired. Emails for ETA checks are now taking much longer than we're used to, but we are following up with our vendors consistently, to keep you in the loop with updates.
04.
SHIPPING CONTAINER SHORTAGES
Because of the high demand of goods, shipping containers are few and far between, which not only increases the price of overseas goods, but delays shipping time. What’s worse, is that once your piece has landed its spot in a container, it then needs to wait its turn in a border lineup, that could be weeks long. Containers are backed up, waiting to enter different ports worldwide, which, in turn, adds to the growing shipping time of your coveted furniture items.
05.
FEWER TRUCKS, DRIVERS AND TRAILERS ARE AVAILABLE
Once the product touches land, our shippers are also experiencing delays, with fewer trucks, drivers and trailers available to move the goods to their final destination. Although the pieces are finally en route to their final destination, getting them there also seems to be taking more time than usual.
As always, we appreciate your understanding and support throughout this growth period for our industry. We are doing all we can to keep you updated (so designers, remember to check those ETA spreadsheets), and pride ourselves in being transparent with our designers and clients. Hopefully these reasons will help give you a better idea of why your furniture is so delayed these days! Looking for something new and fresh? Shop our fall arrivals below!