The Pier Review

Hi there!

Hope this newsletter finds you well, safe, and healthy. In this issue, you’ll find our featured product and updates on how COVID-19 has affected the industry. And, as always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to me at my email, charlie@usfutaba.com.

2020 was certainly an unexpected rollercoaster and, so far, 2021 has been no different.

Prior to the pandemic, the greatest challenge the industry was facing was competition from China. A global pandemic – the worst in a century – was on no one’s mind.

Early on, production screeched to a halt as stay-at-home orders were enforced. Now, nearly a year later, factory activity in China has slowed once again as the country rushed to stamp out a recent coronavirus wave in northern China. Production and operations of some enterprises were temporarily affected.

Now, due to an unexpected increase in consumer demand and despite the pandemic hinting at a decline in demand, congestion at container ports, tight vessel capacity, and sky-high shipping container rates have changed the cargo equation.

While the US international trade deficit fell in December, the trade gap still climbed in 2020 to the highest level it’s reached in 12 years. For the full year, the US trade deficit rose 17.7% to $678.7 billion and hit the highest level since 2008.

How did this happen?

The US economy held up better during the pandemic, therefore, Americans bought more exports than foreign customers bought US imports.

As a result, manufacturing costs have gone up, suggesting the prices of goods will increase as well.

Cabinet sales rose 11.6% in December 2020 – in comparison to the previous year’s figures – ending the year with 6 months of year-over-year growth for the industry. According to the Trend of Business survey by the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association, overall for the year 2020, cabinet sales were up 2%: custom sales were up 0.4%, semi-custom sales decreased 1.9%, while stock sales increased 5.1%.

The Association of Woodworking Furnishings & Woodworking Suppliers announced the inaugural Tool Tour at AWFS Fair in Las Vegas will be July 20-23.

The tour will feature manufacturers and suppliers of hand and power tools and small equipment. This tour came as a result of many requests to see an expanded emphasis on power tools and small equipment manufacturers with a focus on products that are used daily.

Technavio released a report on the global woodworking machines market providing an analysis of the most important trends impacting the market outlook from 2017-2021.

According to Technavio, the 3 emerging trends driving the global woodworking machines market were:

• Automation in woodworking machinery
• Increase in demand for prefabricated wood homes
• Robotic woodworking machines

This report is from 2017 but we want to hear your thoughts. Do you think their predictions were accurate? Email me your thoughts!

Please contact me for additional information or any questions you may have.

Charlie Fournell-Ferrall

Email: charlie@usfutaba.com
Mobile: (757) 478-5587
Work: (757) 549-0036