As we head into the 2023 holiday season, National Tree Company is raising the alarm. This leading importer of man-made Christmas trees in the United States has warned consumers to expect scarce supplies of seasonal merchandise. The firm expects inventory to be sparse as trade war tariffs have hit a huge swath of the company’s product supply chain hard. October’s arrival usually signifies the end of peak import months. Now the company is facing challenges that would threaten holiday displays across the country.
According to Chris Butler, the CEO of National Tree Company, this year’s inventory has plummeted. To date, the company has brought in around 25% fewer products than last year. This drop covers most of our important stockpile of synthetic Christmas trees, necessary in millions of families’ homes during the happy holiday season. As Butler explained, despite its best efforts, the company still needed to increase prices by an average of 10%. This decision was a direct result of the tariffs placed on imported goods.
Last year, at the same week, National Tree Company imported a whopping 204 containers worth of holiday goods. However, for the week of October 13 this year, only four containers of artificial Christmas trees are expected to arrive. Projections for the week of October 27 are up marginally. We expect 44 more containers this week, as opposed to 48 at this time last year.
Trade tracker Vizion has shown that this week only 14 containers are currently on their way to U.S. ports. This is a significant decrease from the 113 containers that came in during the same calendar week last year. These statistics in part expose the hard realities that importers, like National Tree Company, continue to face today. They’re contending with increasing tariffs and surging trade tensions.
Their company imports fell by over 90% from May through October of this year as a result of these tariffs. Butler noted that October is a big month for their business. It’s the last big month for bringing in all those holiday goodies! Specifically through taking action by going straight to the Treasury Department. Further, he’s worked closely with U.S. Trade Office to address the urgent challenges affecting the holiday retail environment.
William George, the director of research for ImportGenius, said October is hugely important for forecasting imports. He cautioned that continued dramatic drops in imports could be bad news for American retailers and consumers alike. George argued it was not affordable. He particularly fears for the consumers at the bottom of the economic ladder, who will struggle to adjust to the new hardship created by the 10% price hike.
Looming shortages are already replacing this optimism with anxiety. This, just as the drumbeat grows louder around weaker consumer demand this holiday season—especially for discretionary items. Industry insiders note that Christmas décor sales typically hit their high mark over the Black Friday weekend. Retailers are looking to mitigate the effects of ongoing supply chain challenges on their sales during this pivotal period.