Local lumberyards facing same issues as the big guys — soaring prices

    Chad Leibbrandt put it bluntly: “It’s not a pleasant experience buying lumber right now.”

    As the owner of Adams Lumber in Imperial, Nebraska, and Grant, Nebraska, he’s been dealing with a steady increase in lumber prices for nearly a year.

    He’s also been answering a lot of questions from customers on when it will end.

    “I wish I knew,” he said.

    Leibbrandt said he’s happy he’s still able to access material to service his customers, but it’s a longer wait now until the order arrives and, maybe more importantly, he doesn’t always know what his cost is going to be on big loads until they arrive.

    “It’s a mess.”

    It’s the same for Jorge Dominguez, store manager at Holyoke Lumber in Holyoke, Colorado.

    He’s been seeing the same steady price increases, especially in sheets of CDX plywood and OSB (oriented strand board) plyboard, two of the materials used most in wood construction projects.

Why the drastic increases?

    There are a lot of opinions on why the drastic lumber price increases, but a lot of them center around COVID-19 and its effects in several directions.

    While lumber production is ramping back up in the U.S., the demand from builders and home remodelers continues to outpace supply, according to The National Association of Home Builders.

    Others have pointed to a lack of workers returning to their jobs as production in mills tries to get back on pace, and larger contractors buying train car-loads of lumber.

    The NAHB calculates that current lumber prices are adding at least $24,000 to the price tag of a typical new single-family home.

    That is concerning to many associations involved in construction, real estate and lending.

    In March, 35 such associations sent a letter to Gina Raimondo, newly-confirmed U.S. Secretary of Commerce, with their concerns.

    They wrote, “The potential for housing and construction to grow and lead the economy is limited as long as lumber remains expensive and scarce.”

    They asked Raimondo for a thorough review of the lumber supply chain and to seek remedies that will increase production.

    In Holyoke, Dominguez said they are trying to keep retail prices down as much as possible, but with their costs rising regularly over the past 10 months, it’s difficult.

    “We are trying to make less of a margin,” on their end, he said, but that can go only so far.

    Leibbrandt first heard rumors last year of the price increases coming, and started seeing them begin a steady rise last August.

    He looked up his costs for two main pieces of lumber customers and contractors have been asking about, comparing the prices on June 3, 2020, to June 3 this year.

    For 7/16” OSB wall sheeting, the retail price went from $14.91 to $65.41, or four and a half times higher.

    Looking at an 8-foot 2x4, a piece went from $4.18 last year to $13.81 this year, or three and a half times more.

    “There are significant increases like these across the board on all building materials,” Leibbrandt said.

    The supply and demand disparity results in much longer shipping time frames, too.

    Leibbrandt said they will receive lumber anywhere from one to two months after it’s ordered.

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