What is going on with wood prices right now

[CaptainBudget]

The price for my steel restock made me have a look on the internet for a cheaper source than my usual supplier. I made up my list on Friday, but had to check some sizes for a gate I'm making. I took a snapshot of the order, because the site wouldn't save my basket. Went to place the order today and the cost has gone up since Friday!!! lol about another 1% on a £300+ order

Sounds about right. We're having stockists quote price validity of 24hrs on stainless and mild steel, I've only ever known that on volatile materials like brass! Mild & Stainless steel quotes used to be valid for 1-2 weeks from most suppliers, and that's now gone out the window...

Prices appear to be rising daily across the board on metals.

 

[Keith 66]

On the bright side i just purchased a 30kg pack of West System epoxy for an ongoing boat project, local supplier wanted £479 plus vat, East Coast fibreglass price £391 plus vat. Big saving!
To be honest though GRP prices are changeable they havent gone mad like timber & metals, Just yet!

 

[Adam W.]

Sherbert dip dab futures have gone through the roof.

 

[Droogs]

Sherbert dip dab futures have gone through the roof.

But the bottom's fallen out of smarties tubes

 

[topchippyles]

Just about the right time to sell some of my timber stock i think

 

[Doug B]

My backs aching I’ve just fetched that much unsorted redwood

 

[stuart little]

Chimneys are also going through the roof!

 

[Popey]

Sherbert dip dab futures have gone through the roof.

But there are some mouth watering deals on opal fruits...

 

[Rorton]

Blimey, I bought a 12mm sheet of birch ply in March for £31 incl vat, was going to buy one today. Now £67!

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Blimey, I bought a 12mm sheet of birch ply in March for £31 incl vat, was going to buy one today. Now £67!

You all got me concerned about plywood supply and costs. While I may make you envious, I just went and renewed my stock of A grade 20mm ply as I’ve used quite a bit and have a few projects planned

when SWMBO called to check the prices she found that there has been no change since I bought the last sheets about 1 to 2 years ago it is still ฿1,020 per sheet or £22.95. I’m not sure if it’s locally produced or a reasonably good product from China

NB I just realised that it’s probably unusual in the U.K. and USA that one of the yard workers is a woman, here your likely to find anywhere from 20% to 40% of labourers are women

 

[Doug B]

I don’t doubt your prices haven’t increased @sometimewoodworker its purely down to profiteering over here,with a different excuse for each price rise

 

[sometimewoodworker]

I don’t doubt your prices haven’t increased @sometimewoodworker its purely down to profiteering over here,with a different excuse for each price rise

No it isn’t.

Though it would be nice to think that.

There has been bad forecasting, much higher demand than anticipated, labour shortages, containers in the wrong places, people using the Just In Time general idea that only works if you really understand it and plan for when it fails (which most didn’t) and many other factors that have caused a perfect storm

Have suppliers charged a huge markup on stock they bought a while ago? Of course they have, because they have to replace it at a hugely higher wholesale cost. Is that profiteering? Absolutely not it’s the cost of doing business, and the way the free market works.

you are living in cloud cuckoo land if you think that all wood shops can profiteer like that. It’s one of the downsides of the capitalist society that you don’t like it is clear, that you don’t understand it seems also clear.

Are products still available? Yes, because the demand is lower because of high prices.

Would they still be available if the prices were lower? No, because the wholesalers can’t supply at the lower prices

Your choice is higher prices and available products or normal prices and no products at all.

Until things get back to a new normal you will not get lower prices and you probably won’t get them as low as they were in past because people will have to hold stock and that costs.

 

[Doug B]

I don’t agree ,putting up prices overnight by a minimum of 38% on stock all ready held & quoted on is by definition profiteering.
The only excuse given this time is “the industry“ want to kill demand so for every £100,000 held in stock my supplier is at least £38,000 richer for doing nothing more, yes he will pay more for new stock but that has nothing to do with the old stock.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Maybe not quite at this level yet (I don't know), but I remember selling cigarettes in the late '70s/early '80s when they went up by more than I was making on them - 77p to 91p. I put the increase on immediately as if I sold out I couldn't have afforded the new stock. I was called a robbing barsteward, of course.

 

[J-G]

I don’t agree ,putting up prices overnight by a minimum of 38% on stock all ready held & quoted on is by definition profiteering.
The only excuse given this time is “the industry“ want to kill demand so for every £100,000 held in stock my supplier is at least £38,000 richer for doing nothing more, yes he will pay more for new stock but that has nothing to do with the old stock.

Then you don't understand the basic concept of commodity business. What you paid for stock has very little to do with what you need to sell it for - the 'cost of replacement' is the driving factor.

 

[Yojevol]

Is this realistic @ £140/cu.ft?

 

[Doug B]

Then you don't understand the basic concept of commodity business. What you paid for stock has very little to do with what you need to sell it for - the 'cost of replacement' is the driving factor.

My bad, 120% increase in some sheet materials over the last 18 months & no one is making any excessive profits, well there you go.

 

[--Tom--]

If accurate shows the scale of some of the price increases in US

 

[Jameshow]

I paid £150 for 8 4.8m X 6x2 treated timber before Easter to make 2 planters. I waited until the funder had paid for the remaining 4 planters and the 2 I paid for, however when I went to pick it up I only had £50 returned back to me. I had quoted at one price but the timber had increased by %125 pc.

Cheers James

 

[Spectric]

My wife works for a small Swedish bank - they have been warned to plan for negative interest rates.

That must mean that as a customer you pay the bank to deposit money which means you might as well just spend it because it will buy more today than in the future.