by Comedian Rodney Dangerfield would often humorously lament that he “got no respect.”
It was a trademark line from him and even though you knew it was coming, it was funny, and you laughed.
Lately, I’ve started to feel the same way about the home furnishings industry. But instead of not getting respect, it seems as if it can’t get a break.
And I, for one, am not laughing.
Maybe it is just the faltering memory of a guy who has reported on this industry for decades, but I find myself thinking that our furniture markets have had more than their fair share of impediments, either wars or threats of wars, the nightmare of 911, pandemics and so on.
And here we are again, just a few short weeks from a major market. We dodged a bullet coming our way in the form of an East Coast dock strike, only to get slammed by Hurricane Helene, then Hurricane Milton.
Earlier, I wrote a story that included comments from industry leaders weighing in on how a dock strike might impact the industry.
After that story was filed, I was fortunate to get additional input from a good friend and one of the nation’s smartest retailers, Jeff Child, president of Salt Lake City-based RC Willey Home Furnishings.
Jeff took time from his hectic schedule to share his thoughts on how the strike might impact the industry.
And while the strike was put on hold, it is important to point out that the settlement reached is being called temporary and will be back on the table Jan. 15.
With that in mind, I think Jeff’s comments are certainly worth sharing as they give insight into the thinking of one of the country’s sharpest and most successful retailers.
Jeff shared that while he doesn’t bring goods in from the East Coast ports, he realizes that based on the volume of goods that do pass through East Coast ports, the impact on our sector could be significant.
“A dock strike would impact our industry and depending on the length, it could get ugly. We don’t bring anything in from the East Coast, so we haven’t seen any major disruptions.
“However, I think freight forwarders have been anticipating this for a few months, and we are starting to see some delays in getting product from the port to SLC by the rail due to more demand.
“That will worsen as the strike goes on as shippers will bring their product through the West Coast.
“If the strike were to last up to two weeks, we will see delays of up to two weeks. But if the strike goes over two weeks, we could start to see some real issues similar to what we saw during Covid; delays will be longer due to more shipments going through the West Coast and with the delays bring equipment shortages in the Asian ports.
“This will cause the rates to go up as shippers need to bid to get on ships like we saw during Covid.
“I believe there is now a Port Congestion surcharge of somewhere between $1,000 and $3,000 on the East Coast. If ships start to back up on the West Coast and get delayed, I’m sure steamship lines will follow suit on the West Coast. That would impact any shipments leaving Asia after the surcharges are imposed,” he observed.
Successful retailers are proactive, anticipating potential logistical jams and finding workarounds before they hit.
Child is clearly in that camp as he shared that in anticipation of any disruption in deliveries, “We have released a few more containers than we normally would to get them on the water and to the port if a major problem does arise,” he said.
Fortunately, we all dodged a bullet. But Jeff’s observations about the impact of a dockworker strike — a clogged supply chain, increased freight costs, delays, higher prices for everyone, are on the money.
And truth be told, Jan. 15 is not far off.
What are your contingency plans?
