Thought the following may interest some of you wooddorkers.
Tom's with "The Detering Company", one of the big building material and millworks suppliers in the Texas Gulf Coast area. Here is what he had to say this morning on lumber and material prices:
Within the last four weeks there has been a large spike in lumber costs. In past years we could contribute this jump in prices to the increase in demand as spring approaches. Although business is picking up, this increase in activity is not the cause of the increased material costs. The increase is due to an empty supply chain and the weather. Consider the following factors:
- The inventory glut, caused by the housing freefall, has been used up. 2. A large number of domestic and offshore manufacturers have either shut down or gone out of business. Unfortunately, a number of the domestic mills will not reopen due to EPA concerns. 3. Ocean freight rates have increased. Not only have rates gone up; the shipping companies have lowered their ships speed for fuel economy and to reduce their carbon footprint. This slower speed has increased transit time from the Far East by 4-7 days. 4. Weather...Due to the severity of this winter's weather, the number of logs removed from the forest has been greatly reduced. The effect of the earthquke in Chile, a major producer of MDF, mouldings and plywood, is already being felt. Domestic MDF suppliers have placed their material on allocation and at present, material is being sold "priced at time of shipment".
The cost increases have currently effected lumber, mouldings, plywood, jambs and frame parts. I expect the increase to start appearing in doors, windows, and other products which use wood fibre in the near future.
What else is new, eh?