“There are massive inflationary pressures bearing down on our industry,” says David Stevens, CEO of the Textile Services Association (TSA), which represents commercial laundries in the UK. “Commercial laundries are already on their knees, having had virtually no government help through lockdowns, despite seeing volumes drop by up to 80%.
“Now they’re being hit by price increases they can’t absorb – they simply don’t have the resources.”
The cost increases faced by laundries cover just about every area of operation and amount to double digit inflation.
Labour shortages have led to wages going up by between 10% and 25%.
Chemical costs are up 15%.
Many laundries also supply textiles services such as linen hire to the hospitality industry.
Here the prices are skyrocketing, with sheeting and bedding up by 55% and container freight costs by 300%.
Trade body UKHospitality is aware of the situation, saying that 94% of hospitality businesses are already experiencing difficulties with the supply chain, through shortages, delays and inflation.
TSA опубликовало информационный бюллетень, чтобы проинформировать конечных пользователей о вероятном воздействии. Его можно бесплатно загрузить с tsa-uk.org/laundry-cost-index
by Zoe Monk
