With an ever-increasing backorder rate, interior designs and retail storefronts are left wondering how to proceed in ordering for their clients. Many are feeling left in the dark as to why turnaround times are being pushed out. Below is a letter from Uttermost President, Mac Cooper, to give clear direction and vision for where we stand as a company.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Our philosophy is to hold big inventories on both coasts to serve you as you need. Despite our full efforts to be in stock, our inventory levels are about half what they should be. Some facts:
-We have more inventory in production than ever before, over $50 million at factory cost.
-We have continued to keep record levels of containers on the water, currently 434 containers.
-We have inventory sitting in factories that will fill another 285 more containers. These will ship as we find containers.
-Normally we pay around $2,250 for a container to the West Coast, and $3,600 to the East Coast. We are now paying up to $18,000. We're expecting this cost to go slightly higher, with no relief for months. February '22 is when we expect rates to begin to improve significantly and capacity to be more available.
-Shipping ports globally are strained to capacity, with backlogs at record levels.
-Vietnam and Malaysia are effectively shut down due to covid, and one major port in China is partially shut down.
-In the US, there is a significant shortage of available trucks and truck drivers, further delaying the movement of containers and product.
-Mac Cooper, President
Many of the statements above can seem discouraging, but there is good news! Uttermost stands in a favorable position regarding stock compared to most. We have over 1,200 items in-stock and ready to ship. Have a backordered item and needing an in-stock replacement? View our in-stock PDF below by clicking on each link!
Design, Create, Elevate
-The Buhmann Group