As each year draws to a close, I’m always asked what sort of price increases are likely for church furnishings the following year.  Over the past couple of years, we have seen church furniture pricing skyrocket for a few months, and then decline slowly over a significantly longer period.  So what’s in store for 2010?

Well, the cost of church furnishings are generally driven by the cost of three important raw materials.  One is steel.  A second is petroleum.  The third is wood.  Over the past several months, none of these basic commodities has seen a substantive increase.  While there are certainly concerns that the increasing money supply could stoke an inflationary period, we have yet to see that take place and therefore a corrosponding increase in commodity prices happen.

From my perspective, most church furnishing manufacturers appear determined to start 2010 with a pricing structure very close to that of the second half of 2009.  With the economy dragging along as it is, the desire to hold off on any price increases as long as possible most describes the prevailing trend for the forseeable future.