Many industry members expect to see another round of price increases this fall, even after some suppliers have already raised their costs and suggested list prices up to two or three times since January.
The cost of raw goods and the containers to ship them overseas keeps rising. The price of a container has jumped from $14,000 to $20,000 in recent weeks, said suppliers and distributors. Before the pandemic, the price of a container was only $3,000 to $5,000.
Joe Levy of distributor Thunderball expects many suppliers will raise prices this fall by at least 10 percent. “It’s crazy what’s going on,” he added citing container prices of up to $20,000.
Some suppliers have already raised prices by 10 or 20 percent this year.
Kevin Holder of distributor Ultimate Marketing said, “Containers have gone up to $18,000 to $20,000. They used to be $5,000. We’re going to see some dramatic increases in prices come August and September. Copper’s gone up. A lot of raw material prices are up because of supply and demand. I think we’re going to see a 30 percent price increase.”
One of the top five head unit suppliers said it also expects more increases in the fall. “It’s not just freight. It’s raw materials, everything is going up. I think people [companies] can’t sustain it any more.” He expects increases in the teens later in the year.
Pioneer is the latest to raise prices with an increase announced for August 1. The company sent a letter to dealers stating, “As the cost associated with raw materials, components and global logistics continue to escalate, Pioneer must reflect this impact on pricing to our customers…”
price erosion has been a problem in this industry for years. it is about time our prices are reflecive of the quality products we are providing. A smart retailer uderstands a 30% profit on a $100.00 item is not as good as a 30% profit on a $300.00 item. Our profit margins have fallen so low with msrp vs net cost we could barely pay the elecric bill. We where forced to go out and find other things to sell to make up for this price erosion. I never like to have o pay more for things , but I do like to make a living at what I love to do.
How can manufacturers raise prices 8-15% effective July 1 on products they can’t deliver? I predict that when they can deliver they will hit us with another price increase so prices will rise a total of 20-25%. Sounds and looks like greed to me !
Is it really shortages causing the hikes or is it just greedy corporations sticking it to everyone willing to pay it
7 SHORT months ago . . things were heading in an amazing direction. Today, we can’t even decide which direction to move in . . .everything has become a cluster fudge. Agree with you on the COVID excuse . . it is horseshiz. The shortages and issues kicked into high gear shortly after this new admin. Can we please have the mean guy back?
Containers are already reaching $25K. Plus the truck fees from the port to final destination in the US has skyrocketed.
True indeed. Container prices have risen Of course the Pandemic is always sited as the reason for higher commodity prices. We were energy independent, now we’re not. Fuel prices have skyrocketed since thus higher transportation fees. We need someone in the Whitehouse who can straighten out this economy.