The Urethane Blog
July 27, 2021
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
1H2021 sales of EUR 596.2 million (+59.3%) – Full-year 2021 guidance confirmed
Regulated information, Brussels, 27/07/2021 — 07:00 CET, 27.07.2021
- 1H2021 net sales: from EUR 374.3 million to EUR 596.2 million (+59.3%)
- Net sales include FoamPartner as from 1 April 2021 (EUR 71.9 million over 2Q2021)
Based on unaudited information, 1H2021 net sales will amount to EUR 596.2 million compared to EUR 374.3 million in 1H2020 (+59.3%) and EUR 453.8 million in 1H2019 (+31.4%).
The main growth drivers are (i) strong demand in most markets, (ii) price increases to mitigate the substantial impact of higher raw material prices and (iii) the integration since April 2021 of the net sales of FoamPartner.
Olivier Chapelle (CEO): “The positive sales trend observed during 1Q2021 continued in 2Q2021, driven by very strong demand in Insulation and solid demand in Engineered Foams. In Bedding, volumes are improving due to the lifting of the mobility and business restrictions which still affected Germany during 2Q2021.
The chemical raw materials supply remains very tight due to planned maintenance and new force majeure incidents at the premises of our suppliers, affecting primarily the MDI availability. Normalization of the situation is difficult to predict, and we therefore continue to adapt pricing to compensate for the cost increases.
The integration of FoamPartner progresses as planned, and forecasted synergies at the horizon of 2023 are now expected to reach EUR 18 million versus EUR 14 million estimated previously. In the meantime the divestment process of the Bedding business has been launched, with non-binding offers expected before the end of July 2021.”
https://www.recticel.com/1h2021-sales-eur-5962-million-593-full-year-2021-guidance-confirmed.html
July 27, 2021
1H2021 sales of EUR 596.2 million (+59.3%) – Full-year 2021 guidance confirmed
Regulated information, Brussels, 27/07/2021 — 07:00 CET, 27.07.2021
- 1H2021 net sales: from EUR 374.3 million to EUR 596.2 million (+59.3%)
- Net sales include FoamPartner as from 1 April 2021 (EUR 71.9 million over 2Q2021)
Based on unaudited information, 1H2021 net sales will amount to EUR 596.2 million compared to EUR 374.3 million in 1H2020 (+59.3%) and EUR 453.8 million in 1H2019 (+31.4%).
The main growth drivers are (i) strong demand in most markets, (ii) price increases to mitigate the substantial impact of higher raw material prices and (iii) the integration since April 2021 of the net sales of FoamPartner.
Olivier Chapelle (CEO): “The positive sales trend observed during 1Q2021 continued in 2Q2021, driven by very strong demand in Insulation and solid demand in Engineered Foams. In Bedding, volumes are improving due to the lifting of the mobility and business restrictions which still affected Germany during 2Q2021.
The chemical raw materials supply remains very tight due to planned maintenance and new force majeure incidents at the premises of our suppliers, affecting primarily the MDI availability. Normalization of the situation is difficult to predict, and we therefore continue to adapt pricing to compensate for the cost increases.
The integration of FoamPartner progresses as planned, and forecasted synergies at the horizon of 2023 are now expected to reach EUR 18 million versus EUR 14 million estimated previously. In the meantime the divestment process of the Bedding business has been launched, with non-binding offers expected before the end of July 2021.”
https://www.recticel.com/1h2021-sales-eur-5962-million-593-full-year-2021-guidance-confirmed.html
July 27, 2021
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
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.
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