Current Affairs
July 27, 2021
PFA’s Batson In the News
In-Depth: US furniture stores face foam shortage
Supply issues cause delivery delays Industry experts say a foam shortage wreaked havoc on the furniture and mattress industry, and it likely won’t end for months.
By: Jared Aarons Posted at 6:16 AM, Jul 27, 2021 and last updated 10:26 AM, Jul 27, 2021
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Industry experts say a foam shortage wreaked havoc on the furniture and mattress industry, and it likely won’t end for months.
Speaking with ABC 10News, Russ Batson, the Executive Director of the Polyurethane Foam Association, says he doesn’t expect supply levels to normalize until the holiday shopping season.
“It’s a really unfortunate confluence of factors,” Batson says.
The shortage has been going on for months, with no single reason to blame.
When the pandemic started, industry experts had to guess what would happen to demand. They thought demand would go down as people stayed home. Because of that, the industry, which uses a “just in time delivery” model for production, cut back on foam.
Instead, the opposite happened. As people redecorated their homes, they bought new mattresses and furniture. Demand quickly outpaced supply.
“All of the guesses that people made about where mattress sales, where furniture sales, and where car sales would be were wrong,” explains Batson.
Production quickly ramped up to meet demand, but the backlog of orders, combined with some production plants being closed for maintenance, created the shortage.https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/6811572/embed?auto=1A Flourish chart
In February of 2021, it got worse when Winter Storm Uri hit Texas and Louisiana, knocking a handful of plants that make the chemical ingredients for foam offline.
“At a point when (production) needed to be going up, it was going down,” says Batson.
Batson also points out that pandemic-related embargoes on foreign goods kept supply low as well. And shortages of other raw materials like lumber made the problem worse.
As all of this played out, furniture stores and other businesses that rely on foam were left scrambling.
“It’s been a roller coaster, to say the least,” says Paul Rees, the co-owner of Greathouse in Miramar.
Once pandemic-related shut down restrictions were lifted, his store did a month’s worth of sales in less than two weeks after reopening in May. It hasn’t slowed down since.
Meanwhile, the foam shortage meant that orders which usually took 4-6 weeks to deliver started to take twice that long.
“The biggest challenge was setting the right expectations for the customers,” says Rees. “We tell them just to be patient, be understanding, and ultimately you’ll get what you want.”
Other stores took drastic measures to fulfill orders. At Altered Decor in the East Village, the owners told ABC 10News they sold some of their floor models. They also worked with new suppliers to find readily available pieces, and they began selling more plants, rugs, and home accessories.
Rees says he has faith the industry will weather the storm. In the meantime, he tells people looking to buy furniture to look at it as a long-term investment.
“They’re going to have this stuff for a very long time,” he says. “So even if you have to wait a little bit extra, and you may be disappointed, get what you want because you’re gonna be looking at it, using it, and enjoying it for years and years and years to come.”
https://www.10news.com/news/in-depth/in-depth-us-furniture-stores-face-foam-shortage
July 27, 2021
Leverkusen Explosion
1 person dead, 4 still missing in German chemical explosion
An explosion at an industrial park for chemical companies in Germany has killed at least one person, with 16 injured and four still missing By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated PressJuly 27, 2021, 8:14 AM• 2 min read
3:20
On Location: July 26, 2021Catch up on the developing stories making headlines.
BERLIN — An explosion at an industrial park for chemical companies in Germany killed at least one person Tuesday, with 16 injured and four still missing. Fire officials who tested the air said there did not appear to be a danger to nearby residents after authorities initially urged people to shelter inside.
The explosion at the waste management facility of the Chempark site in the city of Leverkusen, near Cologne, sent a large black cloud into the air. It took firefighters almost four hours to extinguish the fire that took hold after the explosion.
Germany’s Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance initially classified the incident as “an extreme threat.” Later on Tuesday, however, the Cologne fire department tweeted that measurements of the air’s pollution “do not show any kind of abnormality.” They said the smoke had gone down but that they would continue to measure the air for toxins.
The city of Leverkusen said in a statement that the explosion occurred in storage tanks for solvents. It said four people were hospitalized with severe injuries.
“We are deeply concerned about this tragic accident and the death of our employee,” the head of Chempark, Lars Friedrich, said in a written statement.
Currenta, the company operating the chemical park, said the explosion happened at 9:40 a.m. and then developed into a fire.
“Sirens were operated to warn residents and warning alerts were sent,” Currenta said in the statement.
Police in nearby Cologne said a large number of officers, firefighters, helicopters and ambulances from across the region had been deployed to the scene. They asked all residents to stay inside and warned people from outside of Leverkusen to avoid the region.
They also shut down several nearby major highways.
Daily Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger reported that the smoke cloud was moving in a northwestern direction toward the towns of Burscheid and Leichlingen.
Leverkusen is home to Bayer, one of Germany’s biggest chemical companies. It has about 163,000 residents and borders Cologne, which is Germany’s fourth biggest city and has around 1 million inhabitants. Many residents work at Bayer, which is one of the biggest employers in the region.
The chemical park is located very close to the banks of the Rhine river.
Currenta has three facilities in the region. More than 70 different companies are based at the locations in Leverkusen, Dormagen and Krefeld-Uerdingen.
July 27, 2021
Leverkusen Explosion
1 person dead, 4 still missing in German chemical explosion
An explosion at an industrial park for chemical companies in Germany has killed at least one person, with 16 injured and four still missing By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated PressJuly 27, 2021, 8:14 AM• 2 min read
3:20
On Location: July 26, 2021Catch up on the developing stories making headlines.
BERLIN — An explosion at an industrial park for chemical companies in Germany killed at least one person Tuesday, with 16 injured and four still missing. Fire officials who tested the air said there did not appear to be a danger to nearby residents after authorities initially urged people to shelter inside.
The explosion at the waste management facility of the Chempark site in the city of Leverkusen, near Cologne, sent a large black cloud into the air. It took firefighters almost four hours to extinguish the fire that took hold after the explosion.
Germany’s Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance initially classified the incident as “an extreme threat.” Later on Tuesday, however, the Cologne fire department tweeted that measurements of the air’s pollution “do not show any kind of abnormality.” They said the smoke had gone down but that they would continue to measure the air for toxins.
The city of Leverkusen said in a statement that the explosion occurred in storage tanks for solvents. It said four people were hospitalized with severe injuries.
“We are deeply concerned about this tragic accident and the death of our employee,” the head of Chempark, Lars Friedrich, said in a written statement.
Currenta, the company operating the chemical park, said the explosion happened at 9:40 a.m. and then developed into a fire.
“Sirens were operated to warn residents and warning alerts were sent,” Currenta said in the statement.
Police in nearby Cologne said a large number of officers, firefighters, helicopters and ambulances from across the region had been deployed to the scene. They asked all residents to stay inside and warned people from outside of Leverkusen to avoid the region.
They also shut down several nearby major highways.
Daily Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger reported that the smoke cloud was moving in a northwestern direction toward the towns of Burscheid and Leichlingen.
Leverkusen is home to Bayer, one of Germany’s biggest chemical companies. It has about 163,000 residents and borders Cologne, which is Germany’s fourth biggest city and has around 1 million inhabitants. Many residents work at Bayer, which is one of the biggest employers in the region.
The chemical park is located very close to the banks of the Rhine river.
Currenta has three facilities in the region. More than 70 different companies are based at the locations in Leverkusen, Dormagen and Krefeld-Uerdingen.
July 22, 2021
Foam Shortages Back in the News
Foam Shortages Backlog Appliances. Furniture, RVs, Cars And More
By Dawn Geske
07/19/21 AT 11:54 AM
Another product shortage is proving to be a literal pain in the backside for consumers, and this one is affecting multiple industries.
Foam is in short supply nationwide, causing delayed deliveries for a myriad of products that are made with the padding, including furniture, mattresses, vehicles, boats, recreational vehicles, and appliances, USA Today reported. It has also backlogged the building construction and steelmaking industries, the news outlet said.
Foam, which is used in everything from seats and upholstery to insulation and molds for casting steel, began running short in February. This is when five plants in the U.S. shut down due to the harsh winter storms that swept the South. These plants -– four in Texas and one in Louisiana — produce propylene oxide, the main chemical used to make foam.
According to USA Today, the plants were only temporarily closed for a few days, but it took weeks to get back up to full production as flooding and power outages damaged equipment, which were operating at 120% capacity to meet consumer demand.
Chemical plants have yet to catch up as consumer demand remains strong for furniture, RVs, boats, and cars. Consumers are waiting months for new products in these categories and shipment delays stretched from 30 days to as long as a year,
“This has put everything in disarray,” Zachary Moore, editor and analyst for Independence Commodity Intelligence Services, a petrochemical research firm, told the news outlet.
The furniture industry was the hardest hit because it uses a large amount of foam in its products, and shipment delays stretched from 30 days to as long a year, Jerry Epperson, managing director of Mann, Armistead & Epperson and EverChem Specialty Chemicals, told USA Today.
Boats have decreased to the point where dealers have nearly none in stock, taking a year to arrive compared to the previous average of two to three weeks. Sales jumped 60% after a double-digit surge in 2020, Ray Lewis, manager at Oquossoc Marine, a boat dealer in Oquossoc, Maine, told the news outlet. The dealer is no longer taking orders for new boats for delivery this year.
Recreational vehicles aren’t faring any better as some orders are taking up to a year, compared to the normal two to three months. Lead times on appliances have increased to six months, up from two to three months, according to USA Today.
Cars are being affected by foam shortages as well as a semiconductor chip supply disruption, but they are better positioned to weather the bottlenecks. The chip shortage that is hurting the auto industry was caused by the high demand for the part in tech products during the pandemic as consumers scooped up these devices as they stayed home during lockdown orders.Related StoriesVehicle Production Dips Again As Automakers Challenged By Chip ShortagesMore Automakers Feel Impact Of Chip Shortages
But according to Cox Automotive there were 1.13 million unsold vehicles at dealerships in the U.S. as June closed. This was down from 1.78 million at the close of May and down from 2.24 million at the close of April.
Other product shortages that are also affecting the U.S. include short supplies of chicken, pork, ketchup, paper, metal, lumber, chlorine, gasoline, and steel.
https://www.ibtimes.com/foam-shortages-backlog-appliances-furniture-rvs-cars-more-3255123
July 22, 2021
Foam Shortages Back in the News
Foam Shortages Backlog Appliances. Furniture, RVs, Cars And More
By Dawn Geske
07/19/21 AT 11:54 AM
Another product shortage is proving to be a literal pain in the backside for consumers, and this one is affecting multiple industries.
Foam is in short supply nationwide, causing delayed deliveries for a myriad of products that are made with the padding, including furniture, mattresses, vehicles, boats, recreational vehicles, and appliances, USA Today reported. It has also backlogged the building construction and steelmaking industries, the news outlet said.
Foam, which is used in everything from seats and upholstery to insulation and molds for casting steel, began running short in February. This is when five plants in the U.S. shut down due to the harsh winter storms that swept the South. These plants -– four in Texas and one in Louisiana — produce propylene oxide, the main chemical used to make foam.
According to USA Today, the plants were only temporarily closed for a few days, but it took weeks to get back up to full production as flooding and power outages damaged equipment, which were operating at 120% capacity to meet consumer demand.
Chemical plants have yet to catch up as consumer demand remains strong for furniture, RVs, boats, and cars. Consumers are waiting months for new products in these categories and shipment delays stretched from 30 days to as long as a year,
“This has put everything in disarray,” Zachary Moore, editor and analyst for Independence Commodity Intelligence Services, a petrochemical research firm, told the news outlet.
The furniture industry was the hardest hit because it uses a large amount of foam in its products, and shipment delays stretched from 30 days to as long a year, Jerry Epperson, managing director of Mann, Armistead & Epperson and EverChem Specialty Chemicals, told USA Today.
Boats have decreased to the point where dealers have nearly none in stock, taking a year to arrive compared to the previous average of two to three weeks. Sales jumped 60% after a double-digit surge in 2020, Ray Lewis, manager at Oquossoc Marine, a boat dealer in Oquossoc, Maine, told the news outlet. The dealer is no longer taking orders for new boats for delivery this year.
Recreational vehicles aren’t faring any better as some orders are taking up to a year, compared to the normal two to three months. Lead times on appliances have increased to six months, up from two to three months, according to USA Today.
Cars are being affected by foam shortages as well as a semiconductor chip supply disruption, but they are better positioned to weather the bottlenecks. The chip shortage that is hurting the auto industry was caused by the high demand for the part in tech products during the pandemic as consumers scooped up these devices as they stayed home during lockdown orders.Related StoriesVehicle Production Dips Again As Automakers Challenged By Chip ShortagesMore Automakers Feel Impact Of Chip Shortages
But according to Cox Automotive there were 1.13 million unsold vehicles at dealerships in the U.S. as June closed. This was down from 1.78 million at the close of May and down from 2.24 million at the close of April.
Other product shortages that are also affecting the U.S. include short supplies of chicken, pork, ketchup, paper, metal, lumber, chlorine, gasoline, and steel.
https://www.ibtimes.com/foam-shortages-backlog-appliances-furniture-rvs-cars-more-3255123
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