(CNN) --
One of the toughest parts of Jonathan Modlich's job these days is telling bereaved families that he doesn't know when he'll have headstones ready for their loved ones.
Disruptions in the global supply chain caused by the pandemic are shaking the domestic production sector for tombstones and monuments at a time when their demand has soared.
Crucial materials like granite, saws, and rubber templates are in short supply.
Workers are hard to find and truck drivers even harder.
"We try to be as direct as possible with the families we serve," says Modlich, owner of Columbus, Ohio-based Modlich Monuments, founded by his great-grandfather.
"This could be six to nine months. To be completely honest, it could take longer. These are things that are out of our control."
Many of the tombstones and monuments sold in the United States are made from granite quarried in China, India, and elsewhere abroad, while much of the stone-working equipment comes from Europe.
Shipping delays and the rising cost of shipping containers have left wholesalers and retailers waiting months to receive their orders, while their products sit overseas until docks open at U.S. ports. .
A gantry saw cuts a custom headstone in Elberton, Georgia.
Meanwhile, domestic granite quarries and manufacturers of monuments and tombstones have been unable to keep pace with the explosion in demand.
To add to the industry's headaches: 3M, one of the main manufacturers of the rubber stencils needed to engrave the jet lettering on tombstones, stopped producing them last year.
The very limited availability of raw materials and the exponential increase in costs are some of the factors that influenced the decision, the company told CNN.
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In addition to covid-19, which has killed more than 900,000 Americans, more and more baby boomers are ordering their headstones in cemeteries in advance.
"We've been inundated with all these orders from retailers that we may not have even heard of," said Chris Kubas, executive vice president of the Elberton Granite Association in Georgia, which produces about two-thirds of all the gravestones it sells. They are made in the USA.
"We were stuck. We couldn't expand our infrastructure to accommodate the increase in orders."
A quarry worker drills holes into a block of granite in Elberton, Georgia, preparing it for removal.
Many pieces of equipment, such as saws and polishers, are pending delivery.
Workers have been hard to find in rural Elbert County, which has a population of about 20,000, even though starting hourly wages have risen from $10 to $15, Kubas said.
Skilled workers can expect to earn more than $40 an hour, compared to more than $20 they could previously earn.
The industry also needs truck drivers to deliver products.
Manufacturers can sometimes have several fully loaded platforms in their batches, he said.
Some companies that are part of the Granite Association, currently with 85 members, have stopped accepting orders from new customers because they want to make sure they can meet those from existing customers.
"It's a perfect storm, and we haven't had enough time to react," Kubas said.
"Right now we're on the losing side, and I have no idea when we'll get out of this situation. We're doing the best we can to accommodate all of our customers."
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months late
Jed Hendrickson, owner of Santa Barbara Monument in California, ordered a large shipment of dark gray granite, enough to make about 40 headstones, from India last May.
He checked on your progress at least every other day and originally hoped to receive it at the end of December.
It finally arrived in mid-February, which will allow it to increase production from four to five days a week.
Before the pandemic, imported granite took about 90 days to arrive, while domestic granite took up to 45 days.
Now, Hendrickson estimates a wait of at least twice as long for shipments.
The tombstones of Monumental Santa Barbara, in California, prepare to be engraved.
Although his annual orders are up 18% compared to pre-pandemic times, he's also paying a lot more for materials.
Normally, granite prices go up 3-4% each January, he says.
In 2021, prices rose 4% in January and another 8% in the middle of the year.
Earlier this year, they were up another 8%.
"I've never seen anything like it," said Hendrickson, who has been in the business for 35 years.
Manufacturers of headstones and monuments expected a surge in orders years ago because of aging baby boomers.
But as life expectancy has risen, the uptick didn't materialize until the pandemic hit, which has made more older people want to get their affairs settled, according to industry experts.
Orders from Buttura & Gherardi Granite Artisans in Barre, Vermont, another top source of granite in the United States, are up 55% so far this year, compared to the same period in 2021, according to Mark Gherardi, president of the company, whose family has been in the sector for four generations.
He hopes the momentum in the business will continue for another decade.
A woman with covid-19 wakes up the day she was to be taken off life support.
Her family had already chosen her tombstone
Gherardi is investing millions of dollars in its manufacturing operations, purchasing, for example, new sandblasting equipment, a hydraulic stone cutter and several saws.
He also hired a dozen new workers in the last year, bringing the total to more than 60, and plans to add more.
“Everyone is trying to ramp up their capacity quickly,” says Gherardi, who plans to ramp up production as spring approaches.
"It takes time, but it's happening."
While some families who lost loved ones didn't realize that supply chain disruptions are also affecting the headstone production sector, they are dealing with delays.
"In the beginning, it was much harder," said Modlich, who is president of Monument Builders of North America, an industry group.
"Right now, more people understand the general state of the world. No one is happy about it. Neither are we."