Made in USA policy pays off
Washington County furniture maker hasn’t had supply chain issues
Telescope Casual Furniture’s Made-in-america pedigree has paid dividends over the past year.
“We are having a record-breaking year, sales-wise,” Marketing Manager Kait Warren said Monday. The company has benefited not only from the COVID-19 pandemic’s staycation trend, but also from its policy of using only domestic components such as the fabric and steel that go into their outdoor furniture.
The pandemic has continued to disrupt international supply chains. That means other furniture companies that depend on parts and materials from China or other Asian suppliers are struggling to keep up with demand.
But Telescope has seen sales jump 40 percent, year-to-year, said Warren. “We’re not having the supply issues from our vendors,” she said.
Sourcing raw materials in the U.S. hasn’t previously been a benefit and may have actually led to higher prices, but this year, the company is glad it’s been buying components in the U.S.
Warren also believes there has been something of a Made-inusa resurgence over the past few years, especially amid tensions with China.
Cost is proving less of a factor as well.
With international supply chains suffering from a lack of containers — those truck-size cartons that are stacked on ocean-going cargo ships — and port slowdowns due to pandemic precautions, transport costs have risen sharply.
The cost of bringing containers by sea from China to the West Coast has almost tripled during the past year, according to the Freightos Baltic Index, which tracks global trade.
The price to bring a 40-foot container from China to the West Coast on average has gone from $1,344 in June 2020 to $4,337 in February 2021, according to the Fitch Ratings reporting service.
As is the case with some other businesses, Telescope rebounded and switched gears early on during the pandemic. While the company initially shut down for two weeks at the start of the pandemic a year ago, workers were then declared essential (they continued to be paid during the shutdown).
For a while, the factory was also turning out face masks for
The cost of bringing containers by sea from China to the West Coast has almost tripled during the past year, according to the Freightos Baltic Index, which tracks global trade.
local schools, nursing homes and other dispensers. “We’ve had to evolve,” said Warren.
Now, with expectations of another big staycation summer as the pandemic has eased but not disappeared just yet, they are looking to hire another 40 employees.
Average pay is about $18 per hour, but they are planning to institute a hefty overtime bonus — part of a strategy to compete with federal $1,400 stimulus checks and enhanced unemployment benefits.
They also have scheduled a job fair on Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at their factory at 82 Church St.