Local furniture manufacturer sees price increase with lumber

AMORY, Miss. (WCBI) – If you are planning on buying new furniture, you will probably see a price increase.

There is not a shortage of wood. It’s all of the other factors that are driving up the cost.

“I’ve been in furniture for over years 30 and I have never seen anything like this. Ever,” Jo Anne Arrant said.

Jo Anne Arrant has spent her life in the furniture business. As the customer service rep for J Furniture, Arrant has to explain to vendors why their prices are up.

They’re not alone. J Furniture is just one of the many furniture manufacturers dealing with the lumber cost increase.

Before costs went up, a sofa could cost a manufacturer $30 to $40 to make. It now costs 30% more.

Operations Manager John McCarther says that the increase has to go somewhere.

“It’s a great concern for the manufacturers here because you know so much of our cost goes into the wood that now, you know, when you’re seeing a 30% increase in just one part of the sofa, think about what that does to the end product, how much it cost for the end product,” McCarther said.

And that’s not the only challenge.

“Especially to be 18 to 20 weeks out, you know, if you place an order today. Normally, our quick ship program was 14 days, now it’s 14 weeks,” Arrant said.

Fewer workers mean less lumber is being produced and shipped. And that drives up the cost of making furniture. And until the consumers say enough is enough, that trend will also continue.

“My wood vendors are coming to me each month going, hey the price is back. It’s going back up, it’s going back up. So, I’m having to constantly review my prices and so, that takes me to my retailer on a month basis saying, hey the price is going to go up next month, price is going to go up the month after. So, when you start going back to your retailers, increasing prices three and four times in a year, it’s hard for them to set a price on what they’re going to sell their sofa for,” McCarther said.

When workers are back on the job, lumber prices are expected to fall as production increases.

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