Shea Simmons
There’s a bit of bad news for DIY-ers. The United States is facing a paint shortage, and it could last into early 2023.
During 2020’s quarantines, home renovations and DIY projects had a major boom. After all, we were all spending a lot of time at home. While you might think the handiwork has slacked off since then, it hasn’t. In fact, the latest data shows $1.1 billion of paint sold in the U.S. in November. Unfortunately, though, supply can’t keep up with demand.
Paint pigments are sourced from around the world, and the materials are subject to delays due to everything from supply chain issues to climate change. That’s exactly what’s happening with these shortages. Couple the issues with raw materials with an actual issue with the supply and actually receiving the paint, and you’ve got a problem.
So far, the lack of supply has driven up costs and caused shortages. Producer prices were up by15.7% since last year in Dec. 2021, and overall, the paint price index was up a whopping 9.7% according to reporting from CNBC. As for when the shortage could end, Dan Murad, CEO of the ChemQuest Group, said if nothing else interferes with the supply chain, paint could bounce back by the fourth quarter of 2022 or early 2023.
If you’ve been wanting to remodel a bit, it might be time to look for some wallpaper.
[Via CNBC]
