We have all been asking ourselves, “When are lumber prices coming down?” For more than a year, lumber prices have been escalating, so there has to be an end to it, right?! The short answer is “Yes, eventually” but the longer answer is not so encouraging.
According to a May 22, 2021 article in Forbes Magazine, “prices will remain high for another two or three years, then drop back to more normal levels”. You can read more in the article: “Why Lumber And Plywood Prices Are So High – And When They Will Come Down.”
As we have seen throughout the Pandemic, crisis forces change. The American spirit of ingenuity rises up to meet the challenge. We seek out alternatives and we work to solve the problem. Forced change can be revolutionary.
Why is Ecorrcrate a Better Wood Crate Alternative?
Before we unpack the critical pieces in the Forbes article, we want to propose a revolutionary idea. Switch to Ecorrcrate Now.
Ecorrcrate is a solution ideally designed for the 21st Century. Wood crates have been in use for more than 1000 years and have served their purpose. Now everything has changed, the world has changed; trade routes, transportation methods, supply chains, product types and needs, sustainable practices. So it’s important to reevaluate. Ask yourself, “Why hasn’t our packaging changed to meet the new realities?”
Ecorrcrate will save you money now. Don’t wait 2-3 years for raw material prices to normalize. Save up to 50% of your cost of use. Be safer, faster, more cost effective, and more sustainable.
Ecorrcrate is lower risk. Get away from heavy and risky wood crates. When you have to protect your product and your people from the packaging, is that an ideal solution?
Why Are Lumber and Plywood Prices So High?
The challenges discussed in the Forbes article sum up the Domino effect that have prices soaring. Here is a synopsis of those challenges and what we might expect in the near future.
The problem actually began prior to the start of the Pandemic. In the early 2000’s, areas of Canada, including British Columbia, Alberta and the Pacific Northwest discovered that a tiny mountain Pine beetle was beginning to decimate trees. In the years leading up to the Pandemic, they had already destroyed enough trees to build 9 million single-family homes.
(Source: https://financialpost.com/commodities/agriculture/millions-of-beetles-are-wiping-out-forests-all-across-the-world.)
As a result, new mill projects started to divert production to the South beginning in 2018-2019, but new mills take around 2 years to build. With the additional stresses and strains of the past 12 months, these projects now take even longer.
Then, in 2020, shutdowns and travel bans forced people to stay home. Many looked to take on a new project to improve their homes putting additional stress on lumber supply. By the time fall rolled around, home builders were able to get back to building houses and by the end of the year, new home starts were escalating rapidly beyond anything in recent years. Demand was fueled by low mortgage interest rates.
In response, additional output of existing mills has been hampered by labor challenges. Covid-19 outbreaks amongst the workers was the first challenge to increasing output. Secondly, hiring new workers has been difficult. The jobs aren’t glamorous and are often in rural areas were labor availability is scarce.
If finding good people was not enough of a challenge, shortages in truck drivers across the entire economy and glue shortages from weather-related outages in petrochemical plants in the Gulf region has added additional costs and stress to the situation.
The article points to these issues as the main reason that it will take some time for supply to catch up with demand. Small incremental increases in supply won’t have much effect, it will take new mills and their added capacity to bring things back into balance. There is a high probability this will not happen before late into 2023.
So why is now the time to seriously consider Ecorrcrate? Lumber and Plywood prices will continue to plague your bottom line for a very long time.
Ecorrcrate is a Crate, Not a Box.
If you are truly looking for a proven wood crate alternative that will save you money in these challenging times, do not be fooled by knockoffs, look-a-likes, or the old “box-on-a-pallet” fail. Demand the real thing; patented Ecorrcrate.
Ecorrcrate is an ideal replacement for wood crates in nearly every industry. Here are some of the many industries we serve.
Ecorrcrates are better for people and the environment. Learn more.
There is nothing easier to set up and use than Ecorrcrate. Save time and money! Ecorrcrates take only minutes to assemble, see here: