German associations warn of rising prices in DIY and garden sector

The accident involving the containership "Ever Given" and the associated blockade of the Suez Canal have exacerbated a development that poses major challenges for many importing manufacturers of garden and DIY articles. This has been pointed out by the "Herstellerverband Haus & Garten" (HHG) (Home & Garden Manufacturers Association) and the "Industrieverband Garten" (IVG) (Garden industry association) in Germany. Companies in the garden and DIY sector that purchase goods in Asia have already had to contend with massive delivery shortages, delays and exploding freight prices due to a lack of empty containers. Now this situation has worsened again. Therefore, the associations warn: Now prices in the DIY and garden sector could also rise.Missing containers and staff shortages due to the Corona pandemic are reducing productivity on all major ocean freight routes worldwide and causing increased import and export freight rates, according to HHG and IVG. This is increasing companies' operating costs. If new freight orders are accepted at all, it is at historically high rates, up to 400 percent or more above the normal freight rate. Depending on the proportion of sea freight costs in the individual item, this means that many imported garden and DIY products are a deep red loss-making business for suppliers on the basis of existing price calculations, according to HHG and IVG. Price adjustments for the companies are therefore unavoidable in the long term.