HIGH POINT — Due to extreme supply disruptions and resulting high import costs sparked by the pandemic, many furniture suppliers saw great value in producing and sourcing in North America, with Mexico in particular seeing a huge boost in popularity.
Companies such as New Classic Furniture, A-America, Legends Furniture and American Woodcrafters all have begun sourcing from the country.
During that time, domestic manufacturers, as well as companies already set up in Mexico, found themselves advantaged, as they comfortably avoided much of the disruption and cost plaguing importers.
But now, with supply disruptions greatly improved and ocean container rates returning to normal levels, efforts to reshore manufacturing may be slowing down.
“Mexico is still on pause with new products,” said Rusty Morris, vice president of sales and marketing for American Woodcrafters. “Mexico also seems behind on this whole tip-over thing. I don’t think they’re in a place to begin doing that at a high level.”
American Woodcrafters, a bedroom and dining specialist, sources most of its case goods from Indonesia.
“We have no plans to shift any of our supply around right now,” Morris said. “Our factories in Indonesia are good partners. They’re receptive, and they seem to be honoring all the tip-over changes we’re asking.”
Bernards Furniture, which imports from China, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brazil, says it has no plans to bring production closer to home.
“For sure not in our existing legacy product and absolutely not in case goods,” said Micah Swick, president of Bernards. “Right now, I can ship something from overseas cheaper than I can get something to Texas.
“As we expand into upholstery though — and we’ll see how this market goes — I’m interested to source that domestically.”
A sourcing mix
Hekman Furniture imports high-end bedroom, dining and home office furniture from overseas. It also manufacturers product in Michigan and in High Point.
“We’re always looking to diversify our production,” said Jim O’Keefe, vice president of sales. “We’d love to be able to produce everything here. We have a great team. But we also have great factories overseas. And with import prices declining, it’s becoming more profitable to get it overseas.
“We always have the mindset that we want to make it here,” he added. “If we can make it here at the price points we need, we’ll do it. But that’s not necessarily happening right now.”
Domestic freight cost has weighed on Hekman, but O’Keefe believes it’s improving.
“Domestically, demand for shipping is starting to come down,” he said. “We’re trying to manage our logistics better. We’re looking for ways to improve like upgrading our systems. Carriers will fight to become more aggressive, so we’ll need to be prepared. One challenge with our Michigan manufacturing is that it’s not a typical lane for a furniture carrier.”
When asked if he thinks furniture companies will move production back from overseas, Durham Furniture President Luke Simpson had an interesting take.
“Consumer sentiment will drive it,” he said. “People seem to care right now. If they hear supply issues are caused by overseas problems, then they’ll think manufacturing here is a good thing. But will that disappear?
“I think we’re going to see a mix,” Simpson continued. “Some importers will have domestic operations just to be safe in the future. I’ve found a few retailers that are looking to source more domestically, but there’s not as many as we were thinking there might be. In the end, it comes down to price.”
Simpson says he has no plans to move production away from Durham, Ontario. “We’re here in our little town and that’s where we’re going to stay,” he said.
Closer to home
Companies that already are manufacturing in the U.S., too, seem to be fully content.
“With container rates dropping, we’re even more optimistic about our domestic operations,” said Tim Donk, vice president of product for Legends Furniture. As well as importing from overseas, Legends has a manufacturing facility in Arizona where it employs 215 workers.
“Our domestic business is good,” Donk said. “We’re close to being at capacity, and we’re building in more efficiencies. Our lead times are four weeks. Our biggest category there is fireplace consoles, and that’s something we saw a huge uptick in over the pandemic.”
Legends however, which also began operations in Mexico over the pandemic, is less enthused about the country, with Donk saying it’s not “as good of a deal as it once was.”
Vaughan-Bassett, one of the biggest bedroom furniture makers in the U.S., is still glad to be fully a made-in-America company.
“Certainly some of the pandemic-era freight advantages have gone away,” said President Doug Bassett. “But there are still big advantages. We have significantly more control in our factories, and that’s even more important with this tip-over situation. We can oversee everything ourselves. I’d much rather be a domestic manufacturer than be importing from someone around the world.”
