More price increases

[Spectric]

Price increases have been a topic recently but with my current energy deal ending I have found that Uk energy prices have increased, for me £20 month best deal and blamed on wholesale energy cost and they will be even more for those on std tarrifs. When will we see some kind of leveling out because now we could be using more expensive materials and spending more to keep the shop warm and illuminated, not to mention our homes.

 

[Misterdog]

I was talking to my metal fabricator today and complaining that timber prices have risen 20/30 %.

He said some of his steel prices have doubled since last year.

Used car prices up 20%, energy costs up 25% labour costs up 8%.

We could blame Brexit if we were that way inclined.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

So could the rest of the world if they were that way inclined.

 

[Adam W.]

There may be something in that though, as I was comparing the m3 price of walnut in Denmark, not the cheapest part of the world, to prices in the UK.

Denmark £3500/m3 to UK £4500/m3 at Lathams

 

[Cabinetman]

There may be something in that though, as I was comparing the m3 price of walnut in Denmark, not the cheapest part of the world, to prices in the UK.

Denmark £3500/m3 to UK £4500/m3 at Lathams

£3583 inc vat at my local yard for Prime American black walnut, But yes things have gone up. Ian

 

[sploo]

Probably 90% Covid, 5% backlog from Suez canal blockage, 5% Brexit. I could point out that two of the three will eventually go away, but that's risks getting people grumpy

 

[Rorschach]

25% increase for us on our energy bills

 

[Rorschach]

Probably 90% Covid, 5% backlog from Suez canal blockage, 5% Brexit. I could point out that two of the three will eventually go away, but that's risks getting people grumpy

quiet, you will awaken the Jacob if you aren't careful

 

[Terry - Somerset]

For the last 5 years crude oil prices have been in the range of $50-70 per barrel.

However for a brief period at the start of the Covid pandemic prices fell to negative levels - suppliers paid customers to take it away! More generally the price fell to ~$20 per barrel for Feb - May 2020.

I suspect that these low oil prices were embedded in energy contracts signed up about a year ago which are now ending. And before anyone says "oil is not a major component of UK energy generation" a similar trend occurred in natural gas markets.

It may just be that prices are rebounding to levels last seen two or more years ago!

 

[D_W]

£3583 inc vat at my local yard for Prime American black walnut, But yes things have gone up. Ian

"american walnut" is exorbitantly expensive here in America. Walnut's not really an issue of inflation - I guess it's a problem of blight here. What's around for $10 a board foot here is like cabinet sticking. 2x4 lumber here (due to futures) had gone from about $2.50 to $8 per at one point - not sure where it is now. It was just construction lumber and plywood that was way up, but exotics and such (that don't have wide appeal) are unchanged. The walnut issue has crept up over the last decade or so - which is strange, as I haven't seen much demand for it here in finished use (it's just a decline in supply without that being due to absurd demand).

Cherry on the stump here is almost worthless. White oak is relatively high (though that might be slipping) due to distillery disasters making for big demand to replace barrels. Red oak is and always was worth almost nothing, and there's no no organized small market or beech here (it's usually burned).

 

[highwood122]

"american walnut" is exorbitantly expensive here in America. Walnut's not really an issue of inflation - I guess it's a problem of blight here. What's around for $10 a board foot here is like cabinet sticking. 2x4 lumber here (due to futures) had gone from about $2.50 to $8 per at one point - not sure where it is now. It was just construction lumber and plywood that was way up, but exotics and such (that don't have wide appeal) are unchanged. The walnut issue has crept up over the last decade or so - which is strange, as I haven't seen much demand for it here in finished use (it's just a decline in supply without that being due to absurd demand).

Cherry on the stump here is almost worthless. White oak is relatively high (though that might be slipping) due to distillery disasters making for big demand to replace barrels. Red oak is and always was worth almost nothing, and there's no no organized small market or beech here (it's usually burned).

on

 

[Blackswanwood]

As I understand it there are three key reasons that household energy bills are rising.

First the wholesale cost of energy has increased driven by demand as economic activity in Asia has picked back up post pandemic.

Second, the move towards greener sources of energy.

Third, the regulator making a concession to suppliers that has added £23 per household to bills to cover the costs of dealing with loss of revenue during the pandemic.

For me the first two fall into the category of "fair enough" but less so the third one where I feel perhaps the regulator should have held firm and helped the energy suppliers to shoulder a bit of the cost of the pandemic.

 

[highwood122]

on the timbercut website uk. american cherry is the same price as black walnut. how do you account for that. some people might suggest it is a case of "catch as catch can"

 

[hairy]

I was told the price of getting a shipping container to the UK from China has gone from 3_4£K to 10K.
Cement was about £6 a waterproof bag last year for me to almost twice that now. Nearest B&Q to me is limiting them to two per customer so I'm told. A strainer fence post was about £23 last year to £40 now.

 

[CatIII]

VAT...value added tax. I was a kid at school when this was introduced as we joined the common market as it was called then. I remeber asking teach why we had to pay it and not receiving a suitable reply. Now we've left, can we stop paying it now?
Regards from a old hard liner who remembers thing like this!

 

[Spectric]

Third, the regulator making a concession to suppliers that has added £23 per household to bills to cover the costs of dealing with loss of revenue during the pandemic.

Why should customers have to make donations to a business, running any business involves uncertainty and risk and you have to take the bad times as well as good and just let some fail, no point in proping up a dying one. So they lose revenue due to the pandemic, why because people must still be using gas and electricity but many other businesses will have lost out due to the pandemic but my local timber supplier or garage are not asking for donations and both lost revenue due to the pandemic.

 

[Misterdog]

Just spoken to Arnold Lavers.

MDF has risen 25% and going up a further 40% next month.
Quoted £ 68 plus VAT for 1 x 22mm MR sheet.

OSB has risen 60%.

 

[Misterdog]

Why should customers have to make donations to a business, running any business involves uncertainty and risk and you have to take the bad times as well as good and just let some fail, no point in proping up a dying one. So they lose revenue due to the pandemic, why because people must still be using gas and electricity but many other businesses will have lost out due to the pandemic but my local timber supplier or garage are not asking for donations and both lost revenue due to the pandemic.

With everyone in lockdown the gas/electric use increased dramatically.
People used to the heating provided free at work, thought it ok to have the same at home.
Then the bills come in and many cannot afford it.

Look at all the material cost increases, should all the merchants be allowed to go out of business.

Hopefully supply and demand will return some level of sanity, but all these businesses have lost a years revenue (merchants). they are all blaming their suppliers but the rises are cumulative, raw materials up 30% merchants profit margin adds 100% then VAT adds 20%.
All adds up to a 60/100% 'retail' increase.

Wages are also rising rapidly to a shortage of workers, isolating/Brexit.

 

[Spectric]

Looks like the interest rate needs to rise to put the brakes on inflation. With an economy so heavily relient on finance this could get that going and then drop VAT to say 10% for two years to get the consumer spending.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

My wife works for a (an upmarket) bank - they've been warned to expect negative interest rates.