GERMANY – In the German furniture industry, the supply situation for important supplier products is worsening.

In a current association survey, around 70 percent of the furniture manufacturers surveyed stated that material availability in May 2021 deteriorated again compared to the previous month.

“In the meantime, production is restricted in around half of the companies due to material bottlenecks, and production days have often been omitted,” says Jan Kurth, Managing Director of the Association of the German Furniture Industry (VDM / VHK), on the basis of the survey.

The delivery bottlenecks increased across almost all raw materials in May. Metal parts, fittings and functional elements are currently hardest hit. With regard to these product groups, almost 80 percent of the survey participants complain about shortages.

Around 70 percent of companies report a tense supply situation for chipboard. There are also massive bottlenecks in MDF and HDF boards, upholstery foams, electronic components and packaging materials. Fabric and leather covers are also scarce.

The price development for important products intensified further in the course of the second quarter of 2021. The price of chipboard, upholstery foam, packaging materials and metal parts, fittings and functional elements rose the most compared to the first quarter of 2021, as the survey shows.