The Pier Review

Hi there!

Hope this newsletter finds you well, safe, and healthy. At Futaba, we hope to keep you informed on the latest supply issues in the US right now – as well, all the things being done to combat it.

We aren’t the end all be all source for this information, but we hope these articles of interest can help your business prepare for the changes ahead! 

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to me at my email, charlie@usfutaba.com.

NBMDA is a trade association representing the leading wholesale distributors of specialty interior building materials including wood panels, surfacing materials, cabinet hardware, finishes and related woodworking production supplies.

Membership is comprised of distributors and suppliers that serve the independent building material, kitchen and bath dealers, as well as those that serve production companies involved in a variety of woodworking and fixture industries.

The NAFCD + NBMDA Annual Convention is the optimal opportunity to invest in the success of your business. At the convention, you have access to top distributors, suppliers, and service providers. This gives you the chance to establish new relationships, enhance your business strategy with insights from industry experts, and learn about how others are adjusting to the “new normal” of today’s world. 

This conference will include:

• Trading Partner meetings
• Education to evolve distribution
• Best practices

If you have any questions that are not addressed on the website, please don’t hesitate to reach out to registration@distributorconvention.org.

Be sure to check out the Kitchen Solutions section of our Online Catalog for our entire selection!

The Port of Los Angeles and the nearby Port of Long Beach, which together handle 40 percent of the shipping containers imported into the United States, are doubling their hours in an effort to resolve a logjam that has slowed the shipment of manufactured goods from Asia. The average anchorage time had stretched to more than 11 days previously.

Analysts say some of these issues are worsening, and may last into late next year or even 2023. Imports for the fourth quarter are on pace to be 4.7 percent higher than in the same period last year, which was also a record-breaking holiday season.

The shortages have helped stoke inflation that is chilling consumer confidence since Consumer Price Index, a key reading of monthly inflation, jumped 5.4 percent in September.

Former Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari has been appointed as port envoy to assist the administration’s Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force to help industry stakeholders address structural inefficiencies that are bottling up ocean shipments.

Gary LeBlanc, Director of Major Kitchen Accounts at Richelieu Hardware, recently talked with Woodworking Network. He shared his thoughts on supply chain disruptions, the industry impact, and his predictions for 2022.

This article will answer in detail the how, why, and what to do about the current supply chain disruptions affecting our industry and your business.

While lumber prices had been on the decline since their record peak in May, they have been climbing fast since August.

Lumber futures on October 8 were at $713 per thousand board feet. That compares to the high of $1,711 prices reached in May, but it represents a significant gain of more than 50 percent from when prices dipped to below $400 per thousand board feet in August.

Some industry experts are attributing the precipitous rise to an increase in renovation demand as consumers and contractors tried to take advantage of the summer decline in lumber prices. But besides lumber prices, other supply chain shortages, such as cabinet hardware, windows, and siding supply are keeping renovation and housing construction from booming.

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