"perfect storm" is an overused phrase, but over the last few months there have been currency value changes as AJB gave details of above, supply issues due to covid and factories shutting down, demand increases due to people both being at home more and/or on furlough (and probably not spending money going on holiday logistics) and significant increases in the availability and cost of logistics services. The latter is more than just trivial- I work for a manufacturing company and we saw endless delays through the supply chain despite the "factories" operating relatively normally. Some of these aspects have had an immediate impact on price and availability, others have been slower.
It isnt just woodworking machinery. If you look at most items costing £500 or more and I think you will find substantially less stock available than you would expect. Looking at some websites, their warehouses must be empty
