May 2, 2022 – Supply chain disruptions are creating more challenges for medical officials trying to get much-needed equipment like canes, crutches, exam tables, and wheelchairs. Cindy Juhas, chief strategy officer of CME Corp. told FOX Business that the “war on Ukraine is only exacerbating those supply chain issues – which persisted over the past two years – because Russia is a major producer of nickel, chrome and steel.”
Because of the current state of the world, Juhas said it’s “taking two to three times longer to get things.” As the largest equipment-focused national medical distributor in the U.S., CME is already seeing annual price increases that are four or five times higher than usual. The manufacturer for one of CME’s most popular wheelchairs added a 20% surcharge to cover the cost of raw materials and freight for the product in the last four months, according to Juhas.
Crutches, which have been hard to get, have also gone up 20%. Exam tables, also up 20-30%, are backlogged four to five months. Juhas is projecting that the increase in costs and shortage of supplies will last until the end of the year and may push into the first quarter of 2023.