The coronavirus epidemic has impacted industrial sectors across products including wood panel, decorative and related raw materials for surfacing needs. The entire industry and trade transactions and transport is expected to be hit; which is certainly going to jeopardise many companies’ supply chain and businesses. The related machinery, raw material and equipments coming from China is feeling a great hit and will derail or delay many of the businesses that are directly related. The economic implications of coronavirus are increasingly affecting the networks. The laminate and highlighter trade related people say, it’s now worrying.
If Chinese factories closure continues in industrialized provinces after February 2nd weeks onwards, many of the PVC laminate, decorative laminate, floorings, PVC board additives, Aluminium composite sheet coils and wood panel industry related machineries like peeling, core jointer, composers, sanding etc are going to be hit. Various furniture manufacturing companies who depend upon imports from China for various items including hardware, parts, handles, channels, etc are also getting affected. According to reports from people, Hong Kong is already witnessing the heat and business damage from the coronavirus fallout.
We have never witnessed any such incident in recent past history post economic boom and global business network era as this time, world economy is staring to China is today due to coronavirus-epidemic deaths there. Chinese economy is somewhere second in size to the US, but it is part of so many supply chains coming from paper products, stationary, clips, toys, pens, cars to iPhones. In effect, with China in lockdown and its factories have been closed for an extended period to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
In the past few days, the Ply Reporter correspondents spoke to few of businessmen in India to understand the linkages and impact of the disturbances in China. Each one of them be it an electrical appliance company or a leather exporter in Agra, who anticipated that getting supplies moulds are uncertain. A large number of distributors of chemicals and papers; speciality paper are already experiencing shortages of supply from China. The owner of a mid-sized furniture showroom from Kirti Nagar said she had been communicated by the furniture supplier in Foshan, Guangdong that the shipment, what the client is expecting in a few weeks is certain to be delayed. There is an agreement among importers and suppliers in India that coronavirus impact is looming big on decorative surfaces, charcoal panels, wall papers, wood veneers, furniture, hardware, PVC and paper related businesses.
If the situation improves in February then also, it will take another two months to come to normalcy else there is no certainty till some breakthrough is achieved. There are hopes from rise in temperature during March that will help to curb and destroy the virus till then there will be significant impact.
Till writing this news, several Chinese companies who visit during Indiawood exhibition to Bangalore and launch new range of products and machineries for Indian market have cancelled their participation. The cancellation means lesser level of participation of companies and lesser numbers in business transaction in terms of materials and machines from China. India wood panel decorative industry is already witnessing the impact of Coronavirus, even if India is taking extreme majors to prevent its spread in the country.