By Mark Seavy 

Product suppliers are weighing the increase of wholesale prices amid rising manufacturing costs tied to conflict in the Middle East and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. 

The move to increase prices began after coordinated U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran began in late February, triggering a blockade of a strait through which 20% of the world’s seaborne oil passes. This blockade tightened the supply of oil, a key component of the polyesters used in textiles and the plastics employed in toys, kitchen products, and other goods. As a result, prices increased 63% from a year ago to reach $112 a barrel.  

These price increases are not limited to oil, however. Aluminum prices have risen 5.8% in the last month and increased 36.6% from a year ago to hit $3,516 per metric ton as of March 30. And silica sand, a key quartz-based component of mixing bowls and other glass products, has also seen its price rise. Additionally, China cancelled a 9% value added tax export rebate across 249 product categories this month—including glassware and glass containers—further boosting costs. 

Copper prices, meanwhile, have increased 30% thus far in April compared to a year earlier, reaching $12,000-$13,000 per metric ton (but down slightly from $14,524 the month before). And Polyester, which is a key material across home furnishings, apparel, and industrial fabrics due to strength and elasticity, is seeing price increases from key suppliers like Eastman Chemical Co. and Stepan Co. 

These rising commodity prices are coupled with fluctuating tariff rates, which started in April 2025 at 145% for goods imported from China but have since settled into the 30-40% range.  

In the toy space, factory prices in China have increased 4-6% recently and any concessions for tariffs are being rolled back or cut in half, said Jay Foreman, CEO at toymaker Basic Fun, which has licenses for Care Bears, Fisher Price, Tonka, and Stretch Armstrong, among others.  

“We can see increases as much as 10% or more,” Foreman said. “Any reductions we are seeing in tariff costs are being lost to price increases. All of this means lower profits for toy companies and/or higher prices for consumers. Nothing is even close to back to normal yet.” 

Prices for medium density fiberboard—which is used as an alternative to plywood and solid wood in furniture—and prices for hardwood have risen 15-17% during the past month. When it comes to home textiles like bedding, towels, and linens that are heavily reliant on polyester, suppliers are so far holding the line on wholesale price increases, textile industry executives said. In fact, some companies like Pem America, a textile licensee of more than 20 brands, have shifted some production to India, Northern Africa, Pakistan, and Portugal, but the majority of products continue to be imported from China, according to industry executives. 

“While many of these textiles companies have revved up the supply chain, the majority of products in the U.S. market come from China” a licensing executive said. “And yet many retailers are asking that goods be sourced outside of China [because of the added cost].” 

Regardless of where the product is sourced, companies are also facing key component shortages. For example, the supply of propylene oxide, which is essential for the polyurethane foam used in bedding and upholstery categories, suffered a blow after a recent fire at a LyondellBasell’s site in Bayport, TX.  

The pricing for 40-foot containers has settled into the $3,434 spot rate range for containers travelling between Shanghai and New York and slipped 1% to $2,663 for Los Angeles. This is a stark contrast to their peak during the pandemic, when they hit $20,000. One-year contracts between China and Los Angeles are averaging $1,750 and, depending on the carrier, a $300-$600 emergency fuel surcharge is being add, according to Charles O’Connor, Team Lead for North America at freight market research firm Xeneta. 

“We are looking at 12% to 18% increases now, and potentially 30% in May,” mattress maker Spring Air International’s CEO Nick Bates told Furniture Today. “We’ll track it with a surcharge because of how fluid this is. No manufacturer is going to eat that; it is going to show up at retail.” 

But whether wholesale price increases will be accepted by retailers is open to debate. Many retailers appear resistant to absorbing any royalty payments made by licensees into their cost of goods, licensing executives said. That also raises the question of whether licensees may slow the signing of new agreements until pricing settles. 

“There have been retailers that don’t want to accept any cost increases and enforce provisions of contracts that hold prices for 12 weeks,” said an executive at a kitchenware supplier. “In that case, we might not ship product because we cannot do so at a loss. Then there is the question of whether factories will be respectful enough to go back to the original pricing [before the increases] and that much isn’t clear yet.”