corona pandemic
Household appliance industry: Record demand and delivery bottlenecks
Washing machines are produced in the Bosch Siemens household appliances factory. Photo: Ralf Hirschberger/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Home appliance makers are facing historic demand amid the pandemic, while production parts are in short supply around the world. Relaxation is not in sight.
Anyone who buys a washing machine, dryer or dishwasher from Miele these days has to wait up to three months or even longer for the device.
The reasons for this are production stops that are still having an effect during the corona lockdown and the shortage of production parts, which is currently affecting many industries. Manufacturers lack both microchips and metals and plastics. In addition, there are scarce transport capacities, especially from Asia to Europe.
In order to be able to supply as many customers as possible, Miele has been producing at high capacity in all plants since December, sometimes even with extra shifts. The bottlenecks are particularly noticeable in laundry care and dishwashers, says a spokesman. The company has therefore increased its capacity for dishwashers in order to be able to produce more than 100,000 additional units per year on a permanent basis. Nevertheless, it is currently difficult to reduce the long delivery times, according to Miele.
Competitor BSH Hausgeräte, a subsidiary of the Bosch Group with the Bosch and Siemens brands, is also unable to deliver to its customers on time at the moment. The reason for the tense situation is not only the supply bottlenecks but also the increased demand for home appliances during the pandemic.
Exceptional situation with the demand
The situation is similar at Miele: since the summer of 2020, the manufacturer has been experiencing a “special boom that has continued to this day,” says the spokesman. Last year, Miele sold more appliances than ever before in its 122-year history. BSH also had the strongest year in terms of sales in 2020 since it was founded in 1967.
The Association of the Electrical and Digital Industry (ZVEI) sees the reason for this in the renovation trend that emerged with the pandemic. “Due to the pandemic, people are spending more time at home and making higher demands on their living environment – this also includes upgrading the technical equipment.”
In total, manufacturers in Germany sold around 18.7 million large household appliances in 2021, according to figures from the ZVEI industry association. The year before, there were still 500,000 fewer devices. Freezers were particularly popular in the first few months of the pandemic, with manufacturers seeing sales up more than 30 percent. The ZVEI attributes this to the increasing stockpiling of the Germans.
Effect also on the prices
Customers currently not only have to expect long waiting times, but also higher prices. As a result of supply bottlenecks and increased costs for raw materials and transport, many manufacturers have increased their prices. The Miele company increased the prices in its range in October 2021 by an average of 2.5 to 3 percent. In April, the company is planning a further price increase of around 8 percent. An easing of the situation is not yet in sight: the industry does not expect a better supply of semiconductors and other primary materials until the middle of the year at the earliest.
Nevertheless, Miele expects growth for 2022 as well. The ZVEI forecast is somewhat more cautious: the association is concerned about the further development of the consumer climate, which is difficult to calculate, and the high inflation rate. However, it is possible for the industry to reach the previous year’s level again this year.