Suez Blockage Causes Several Weeks Of Garden Furniture Stock Delays

There were already shortages of garden products before Suez became blocked.  Despite it looking as if canal traffic will resume shortly delivery delays are likely to get worse.

The incident began on Tuesday when a 400m container ship was blown off course and wedged itself across the Suez waterway.  Depending on when it is freed this could impact supplies for the May bank holidays.

Many LOFA members have garden furniture and barbecue products on the Ever Given or held in one of the container ships held behind the vessel.  “This means yet another setback for the outdoor leisure industry,” says the trade association.

Delays of 2-3 weeks

If freed in the next few days, as looks likely, Jonathan Stobart of Smart Garden products says, “There will be delays of 2-3 weeks to deal with the backlog both in terms of shipping time and port congestion on arrival, while some ships may have already committed to the longer route."

He continues, "And unhelpfully freight rates have spiked up again, although hopefully not for the long term..."

More than 180 ships remain blocked in the Suez Canal in both directions, unable to get through one of the busiest waterways in the world.  Their only alternative route to reach Europe is to divert their ships around the southern tip of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope, which adds about 3,500 miles to the journey and up to 12 days.

Extra delays

Suppliers are already hard pressed to keep supplies flowing into garden retailers as a result of Covid-19 and Brexit.  They have faced a shortage of containers and spiralling costs to obtain them, congestion at ports and raw material shortages at a time when there is unprecedented demand for gardening products.  The GCA Barometer shows that February sales of garden furniture were up +140%, while tools and garden sundries were up +56%. 

LOFA says, “This could not have come at a worst time for LOFA Members and retailers with the Easter and May day weekends fast approaching it will mean extra delays for products arriving in the UK.”

Medium Term

Jonathan Stobart called it another unwelcome impact on the supply chain.

However, he confirmed today, “We have a large amount of stock both in transit and due to ship in the next few weeks so while there will be shortages on several lines for some weeks yet, with the prospect of a long summer season ahead, we will be much better placed to meet the phenomenal increase in demand as we head into May.”

Source : Reproduced with permission from GardenForum

Image : Photo by Marianne from Pexels

For all the very latest news and intelligence on the UK's largest home improvement and garden retailers, sign up for the Insight DIY weekly newsletter.