Inflation in China is causing a raucous in the Furniture Industry these days.
China's RMB is at an all-time high against the dollar, and we are beginning to feel the effects, in nearly all consumer goods from toys and apparel to furniture.
In the competitive furniture market, which is in a state of decline following the drop in the U.
S.
housing market, cost of goods is as important an issue as any.
With a majority of ready to assemble furniture arriving to the U.
S.
from China, and the constant rise of fuel costs, we are beginning to see increases in pricing across the board for furniture and home products.
The worst is yet to come, as inflation is expected to increase, and the dollar continues to slide against the RMB.
Major furniture retailers such as Bombay and Levitz have already bowed out at an early stage in this looming prospect.
There has also been an increase in movement away from China as a manufacturing center, toward countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, where labor is now relatively cheap.
If there is any silver lining in all this, it will be the reintroduction of some locally manufactured furniture and home products, most of which boast superior quality.
Inflated prices for imported goods from China will mean better competition from our own local manufacturers, and will require Chinese products to improve in quality as they lose their price-point advantage.
This will not happen overnight, however.
Southern Textiles offers a line of bedding and bed products that are made in the USA, offered at Visiondecor.
As inflation in China continues, the U.
S.
furniture industry will continue to evolve, and we may well see more products from other regions of the world, as well as the good ol' U.
S.
of A.
China's RMB is at an all-time high against the dollar, and we are beginning to feel the effects, in nearly all consumer goods from toys and apparel to furniture.
In the competitive furniture market, which is in a state of decline following the drop in the U.
S.
housing market, cost of goods is as important an issue as any.
With a majority of ready to assemble furniture arriving to the U.
S.
from China, and the constant rise of fuel costs, we are beginning to see increases in pricing across the board for furniture and home products.
The worst is yet to come, as inflation is expected to increase, and the dollar continues to slide against the RMB.
Major furniture retailers such as Bombay and Levitz have already bowed out at an early stage in this looming prospect.
There has also been an increase in movement away from China as a manufacturing center, toward countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, where labor is now relatively cheap.
If there is any silver lining in all this, it will be the reintroduction of some locally manufactured furniture and home products, most of which boast superior quality.
Inflated prices for imported goods from China will mean better competition from our own local manufacturers, and will require Chinese products to improve in quality as they lose their price-point advantage.
This will not happen overnight, however.
Southern Textiles offers a line of bedding and bed products that are made in the USA, offered at Visiondecor.
As inflation in China continues, the U.
S.
furniture industry will continue to evolve, and we may well see more products from other regions of the world, as well as the good ol' U.
S.
of A.
Source...