Furniture makers are raising prices

RALEIGH - Furniture companies are raising prices despite fears that higher costs could kill off a rebound just as recession-shocked shoppers appear willing to spend.

Furniture makers are blaming higher labor and material in Asia as well as shipping fees.

"I'm aware of a lot of manufacturers that are considering price increases in this upcoming April market," said Bob George, president of Impact Consulting Services Inc., which advises furniture manufacturers and retailers.

One of the biggest factor driving furniture prices is the rising cost of shipping from Asia to the United States.

Last month, the Federal Maritime Commission, whose mission includes protecting U.S. maritime commerce from unfair foreign trade practices, started investigating whether a surge in shipping fees could strangle the budding U.S. economic recovery.

The average price of shipping a standard 40-foot container from Hong Kong to Los Angeles, for example, jumped 61 percent in the first week of April compared with the same time last year, according to data from London-based Drewry Shipping Consultants.

Another culprit is that more than two-thirds of the wood pieces sold in the United States are made abroad, and rising living standards in China and Vietnam are bidding up factory wages, said Rob Sligh, chairman of Sligh Furniture.

Those rising costs led the Michigan company to raise prices by an average of 2 percent last week, he said.