Sticker shock at Lowe's

[PigButtons]

I need to replace a few sheets of plywood on my deck and went to Lowe's this morning. Half inch exterior sheathing was
$71.25 a sheet. Yikes! The cashier apologized about the price and said that it is 5 times higher than last year. Just glad that I'm not trying to build a house.

 

[INTJ]

This is a result of putting a bunch of cash into the market without increasing supply, plain and simple. That always leads to inflation.........

 

[PigButtons]

Yeah! maybe when I finish my deck repairs Creepy Bill, and Sleepy Joe will come over for some BBQ. I can hit them up for their "Fair Share" of my repair costs.

 

[nilebartram]

ever since March 2020 prices have gone off the charts!

 

[BigJohnson2]

 

[BigJohnson2]

I need to replace a few sheets of plywood on my deck and went to Lowe's this morning. Half inch exterior sheathing was
$71.25 a sheet. Yikes! The cashier apologized about the price and said that it is 5 times higher than last year. Just glad that I'm not trying to build a house.

I paid $8/sheet a little over a year ago.

 

[jk80]

I was at home depot yesterday and noticed 2×4 studs had jumped a buck since last week. 7.96 each!!!

 

[L.Sherm]

Ask a bunch of loggers i know why there sitting home right now because the mills won't take logs because there so full.
Hmmm whos getting rich its not the poor working guy log prices havent went up 5 times

 

[Iowa Fox]

Things are starting to just kind of remind me of the 1970s but they still are not close to those years yet. I watch commodity prices every day and everything is headed upward. We go to town about once a week, today we went to the dentist. Gas is up 15 cents from last week.

Wait until interest rates shoot to the moon.

 

[Bill Norris]

Yea, built a new shop bench yesterday. 1 - 4 x 8 x 3/4 plywood and 5 - 2 x 4 s $112.00 SMH. Plum stupid.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

I am looking to build, so I have an interest in this. No, I don't believe its inflation alone because if it were, the farmers would be getting more for raw timber...They are not.

This is still supply and demand but is a candle lit at both ends. The labor market is horrible, slowing production. Imported timber has been slowed, as has production...and demand is way up due to pandemic home projects. Add in the housing boom with low production, you have way more demand than product.even if the mfgs are intentionally slowing production.
Jmho, but the fact that real inflation hasn't caught up to farmer profits, is a really bad indicator or where lumber prices are headed. I really hope I'm wrong but I think it'll get considerably worse before it gets better. It likely won't get better until interest rates go up enough to significantly slow the house building down. At which point, inflation has already taken over prices of most everything. Bleak picture, imho.

 

[ncageneral]

It might be more tolerable if timber prices were following , I could at least pocket a few more $/ton . Good think about my stand of trees,,,,, they can just keep standing.

 

[jdh47]

I fear we haven't seen the end of it yet. They're just getting started. Fuel prices are up. Labor is down. Grocery prices are up. Dry goods and building materials are up. Firearms are scarce and ammunition and components are scarce. Everything that should be up is down and everything that should be down is up. How bout that first hundred days? I got a flyer the other day asking me if I'd like to buy a new truck and like to have passed out laughing.

 

[BondJamesBond]

tell me about it, new build 2021

 

[Evan]

I am looking to build, so I have an interest in this. No, I don't believe its inflation alone because if it were, the farmers would be getting more for raw timber...They are not.

This is still supply and demand but is a candle lit at both ends. The labor market is horrible, slowing production. Imported timber has been slowed, as has production...and demand is way up due to pandemic home projects. Add in the housing boom with low production, you have way more demand than product.even if the mfgs are intentionally slowing production.
Jmho, but the fact that real inflation hasn't caught up to farmer profits, is a really bad indicator or where lumber prices are headed. I really hope I'm wrong but I think it'll get considerably worse before it gets better. It likely won't get better until interest rates go up enough to significantly slow the house building down. At which point, inflation has already taken over prices of most everything. Bleak picture, imho.

The problem the federal reserve is facing is that if they raise interest rates, the US economy is going to tank hard. They've already pulled all the levers they have to try and "smoothly" change direction: the government dumped money in to boost the economy short-term, and the Fed's dropped the interest rate to zero to keep that money in motion. If they jack up the interest rate now, all the money stops moving and the economy will crash. There isn't a robust foundation under our economy right now to absorb a slow-down and no politician wants a crash on their watch, regardless of what party they are with.

 

[Ol Thumper]

Loggers should say the hell with the lumber mills and not deliver a single log to any mill for the next 12 months, let’s see who makes the money then...

 

[KY_Windage]

You elect a bunch of whacko environmentalists to Congress and the White House, and then you're shocked, SHOCKED, that lumber prices have gone up 500% in a year?

The only regret the Dims have is that they have not done the same to the price of gasoline.

Yet.

 

[BondJamesBond]

To add a twist to this go to Astoria Oregon and watch the old growth timber loaded and shipped over seas,
these logs are nothing like the pecker pole trees that are farmed in the south east.

 

[Ol Thumper]

Timber owners around here are being paid not to harvest their timber and the mills are selling carbon credits on top of selling the wood they are buying at absolutely stupid prices. Look at their profit statements, that will tell you all you need to know about what’s going on with the lumber industry. I watch the markets like a hawk and it’s disturbing to say the least,,

 

[karrarararararar]

covid-19 stopped a lot of lumber coming from Canada too.