2022 Market Update

I find it is always helpful to get perspectives and insights from other leaders in our industry. We use this data at Sidco to make educated business adjustments and pivots to continue being a reliable market supplier. Therefore, I want to share some of the trends and market outlooks that I am seeing for the coming year.

How Things Look Right Now:
The start of 2022 was looking a bit rocky with the outbreak of the Omicron variant. As of now, state mandates for COVID-19 seem to be easing in most areas here in the United States. Supply and labor shortages continue to be very prevalent across industries. Lead times and pricing on raw materials continue to grow. We are getting daily reports from filter distributors and re-sellers that lead times from other filter manufacturers have gotten very long and unreliable. In many cases, manufacturers are not even providing order acknowledgments or expected delivery dates.

What Does the Future Hold?
Market reports are not showing any improvement for 2022. Many commodities continue to see increasing prices and lead time extensions. Three main factors are driving this upward trend in lead times and pricing.

• Logistics issues from overseas suppliers have caused domestic market demand to spike and lead times to increase. 
• Suppliers, much like consumers, are stocking up to deal with longer lead times or the absence of supply, causing an increase in demand.
• Labor shortages continue to make it harder to process almost anything. Demand is currently strong at a time when capacity is shortened by a lack of labor. The labor shortage is also creating inflationary issues in the workforce. 

Sidco’s Response:
Filters are a critical commodity in helping protect people and processes from illness and injury. Without a very high level of scheduling and planning, customers cannot wait months to receive filters. Sidco’s key supplier distinction has always been our service and reliability to our customers. As such, we have continued to make strategic decisions that will keep our capacity up and our lead times low. Blanket agreements and forecasts help ensure customers get the protection they need when they need it.

How Sidco Can Help:
If you have already placed blanket orders through 2022, those will not be impacted by this price increase, as we have already secured raw materials for your orders.

Let me know what you see out there in the market. The more we work together, the stronger we can be a key supplier to our customers. Please connect with me at derek@sidcofilter.com.

If you would like to discuss mitigating this price increase by placing a blanket order or quantity agreement, please give us a call or send an email to quote@sidcofilter.com.

For sales tips and resources, check out these blog posts: