Why Lead Times Have Increased on Amish Furniture
Due to the volume of orders across the country and disruptions caused by the pandemic, our lead times have increased and have become more unpredictable. Our current lead time is 4 to 5 months, but these are not hard deadlines. Many furniture orders come between that time frame, but it is not uncommon for orders to take longer than this, especially for our more popular Amish craftsman.
Why have lead times increased?
As you may have seen on the news or experienced yourself, there have been increased delays across the entire furniture & home industry. Our builders have been hiring more help and working extended hours, but some of the issues are out of their control.
1. Supply issues with lumber: Sawmills across the country are operating at reduced capacity due to the pandemic where people work in close proximity to each other, leading to many shutdowns for quarantines when people get sick.
2. Housing boom: Low interest rates and massive amounts of money being pumped into the economy has started a new housing boom. This has lead to an increased demand for furniture as people renovate and furnish their new homes, as well as demand for lumber for new home builds.
3. Spending more time at home: People are also spending more time at home, and many are diverting the money they may have spent on travel, concerts, etc to renovating and updating their homes and furniture. As an effect, the demand for quality furniture and home goods has gone up dramatically.
4. Working from home: Work & school from home has lead to incredible demand for office furniture across the industry. You may have seen that desks are sold out nearly everywhere, and our in-stock floor models sell out very quickly. Our desk builders currently have the longest lead times of any of our builders with many projecting around 32 weeks to completion.
5. Foam shortages: While we mostly deal in solid wood furniture, we are affected by the recent US foam shortage in regards to our upholstered dining chairs. The 2021 Texas Deep Freeze causes a catastrophic foam shortage that has affected many industries – from furniture, to mattresses to automotive seating. We’ve since seen some extra delays on some of our upholstered dining chairs.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate these unprecedented times. We’re committed to continue to bring our customers the high-quality products and service we’re known for. As a small family-owned business, we had our concerns after the initial shutdown and did not know how our business would do. The privilege of working with you as our customer has been such a blessing to us and motivates us during these times. Thank you again!
Sources/more reading:
QZ.com: America is Running Short of Wood
NBC: Lumber Prices Soaring: How COVID Plays a Role
Fortune: When Will The Wood Shortage End?
Detroit News: Red Hot US Housing Market
Washington Post: Booming furniture sales mean ‘unprecedented’ delays for sofas and desks
Home News Now: Severe storms throw another wrench in the supply chain
