The COVID-19 pandemic has caused manufacturing and shipping delays all over the world.  Many customers are feeling the delays, especially when purchasing furniture for their homes.  

Jan Orton’s family is unwrapping a delivery months in the making.

“We decided in early May, we noticed our old couch had gotten a small rip in it, decided to get a new one,” Jan Orton said. “They said it would three to four weeks,” Jan Orton said.

But Jan Orton’s living room sat empty for nearly two months due to delays frim the manufacturer and in shipping.

“They’ve been very good about getting back to us and letting us know saying we’re checking six and seven times a day, it’s just running longer, they’re having fabric issues and we’re not the only ones on back order,” Orton said.

“Currently all fabrics are made overseas because there are no fabric mills in the United States anymore,” Montgomery’s Furniture Director of Sales Nita Flagtwet said.

Flagtwet says the delays in fabric production are causing some of the biggest issues for furniture manufacturers.

“We’re finding that the factories are trying to catch up now, they’re running extra shifts, working six days a week to make that happen. Part of the reason for the delays are the components for the parts that they build; a lot of them come from overseas and of course that shipping has also slowed down,” Flagtwet said.

Even with the delays, Flagwet says Montgomery’s has plenty of inventory in stock thanks to some strategic buying early on in the pandemic.

“We deal with a lot of vendors, probably have 300 vendors that we buy from,” Flagwet said. “We really stocked up and have some nice inventory available right now.”

But she says anyone looking for a custom order will have to wait longer than usual.

“Normal timelines are about 8 to 10 weeks…right now we’re quoting 10 to 12 so we’ve pushed it out a couple weeks longer,” Flagwet said. “Most people have been kind and gracious and understand that most things are out of our control.”

While their couch may have taken a little longer than they hoped, in the end, customers like Orton are happy to have a new addition to enjoy while they’re spending more time at home.

“If you’re going to be here all of the time you want an environment that’s inviting and looks nice,” Orton said. “You just have to patient and work with it and wait for it to come in…you can’t get upset with the person at the store because it’s not their fault, and the person at the far end, it’s not their fault, it’s just everything going on right now.”

Many people are feeling the same way about their homes right now. Montgomery’s says they’ve been busier than usual with lots of people coming in to get new furniture during the pandemic. The increased demand could be another reason for some of the delays.