SleepTech Magazine Mattress, Accessories, Machinery, Raw Materials
World trade is now facing a major container crisis. The mattress industry is one of the sectors that experience this crisis most profoundly because it receives the raw material from abroad and exports the manufactured products to abroad. In general, what do people in the industry say about this issue? What kind of problems does the container crisis cause in the mattress industry? How will this problem affect mattress sales in the future? All and more are in our survey.
During the pandemic period, after the countries closed their borders, there were great problems in production and supply. The container problem, which continues globally in this period, triggers bigger problems every day. Many solutions are offered by manufacturers about what the crisis is and how it will be resolved. Manufacturers who want to be supported by the government on the container crisis state that they will do whatever they need to do to solve the problem.
Containers are expensive and their storage space is limited
People showed great interest in the transportation industry during the pandemic. Due to this interest, producers say that container prices have increased substantially. Even the rise in container prices has not diminished interest in the transport industry. For this reason, even the areas where the containers will be placed have been limited. Many manufacturers complain of not being able to find space to put their containers. It is stated that manufacturers all over the world should come together around a common mind in order to find a solution urgently.
China takes empty containers back with government support
One of the biggest reasons for the container crisis was that the People’s Republic of China produced a large number of new containers. China constantly sent these containers to different countries and did not think about the container storage areas of the countries in this process. In addition, the People’s Republic of China took back the containers sent to their country within 3 months, although they were empty. China spent a lot of money on containers they brought from thousands of kilometers away. They received great support from the state regarding money and made many agreements with the state. The state has made a great contribution to the manufacturers in the transportation of empty containers. For this reason, Chinese manufacturers, who sent their containers quickly, got state support and got ahead of other manufacturers in the world.
People’s Republic of China triggers growth of container crisis
When we look at the world, it is seen that this situation causes a global problem. Manufacturers outside of China state that it is very difficult to transport empty containers to their countries without government support. The producers, who think that they cannot compete with the People’s Republic of China on this issue, are waiting for the help of the state officials to solve this problem, which causes a major global problem. It is said that the crisis, which is growing day by day, cannot be solved even in 2021 and will cause great damage to manufacturers in this sense. Manufacturers who think that the containers, which are very important in the world economy, belonging to a single country and region will cause a disaster, underline that this issue is understood by the whole world late. While container prices are said to be rising by manufacturers, it is clear that the container problem is getting bigger every moment.
The container crisis has also greatly affected the mattress industry. Most of the companies in the mattress industry buy raw materials from the Far East and China. In addition, the export-oriented mattress industry is concerned about the increase in prices in the mattress industry. We talked to important representatives of the sector on this issue and got their opinions.
Boyteks Marketing Chief Aydın Aydın said that there were several problems in the supply of container equipment in the world and Turkey and he added that the problems began in October. Aydın Aydın continued his words as follows: “Since March 2020, many sales have been canceled and this has caused problems in equipment. Although China was the first country where COVID-19 was seen, it controlled the pandemic period faster than other countries, and continued its production with state support. Moreover, it increased its production even more. China’s equipment needs have also increased faster than predicted. Also, due to the approaching new year, Eastern and Western countries sent all their empty equipment to Chinese ports.
Demurrage cost increased, free periods shortened
Expressing that with the increase in the need for quotas, the cost of demurrage (delay fee applied to containers) increased in some countries and the free periods were shortened, Aydın stated that before the pandemic, the transportation of the containers to the inner regions of the United States took 1-2 days. Aydın Aydın said, “With the pandemic period, the workforce has decreased. The trucks could not start and the chassis capacity was reduced. For these reasons, big problems occurred. The return of the empty equipment to the ports and warehouses was extended by 1 week. This has caused imbalances in equipment and supply demand,” he concluded.
Özen İplik Sales Manager Engin Kalkan, who presented his views on the container crisis, said that there are uncertainties around the world due to the pandemic in every issue. Therefore, he said that freight prices increased rapidly in a short time. Engin Kalkan said, “In general, I don’t think the rising prices will decrease. The biggest reason for this is that the whole world has become dependent on China in terms of containers. Companies outside of China cannot find the containers to load. Apart from that, with the contraction in ship lines, prices have increased 5-6 times and the uncertainty continues,”he said.
Saying that there is a contraction in the production of raw materials in the world, Engin Kalkan concluded his words as follows: “The demand for raw materials continues to increase. Many factories have not been able to return to their full capacity. This situation caused the raw material problem to occur all over the world and raw material prices increased. So it would be very good if the state lowered the tax rates for a while so that producers are not greatly affected. If appropriate regulations are made, the pressure may decrease on the Turkish industry.”
Stating that the export rate of the People’s Republic of China increased by 60% in 2021 compared to the previous year, Kaliteks Vatka Keçe Board Member Mustafa Kiper emphasized that this increase will continue throughout the year. Mustafa Kiper, “There is an intensive import and export in China. The global economy wants to regain its development in 2021 and 2022, which it lost in 2020. For this reason, we think that the container problem in the supply of products will continue globally,” he said.
