Lumber shortage. Went to two Lowe's and one Home Depot. All three looked like this.

in AZ TO AND PRICES ARE RISING

Being a year late is always a bitch.

Last fall 66 packs of osb were leaving the store at $5.50 a sheet.

It is 20 to 24 a sheet now. If it's worth that much to them they can keep it.

Gosh, never thought of that.

I'd feel awful stupid trying to have a forest fire with no trees.

Here's my tangential experience with the lumber industry...

I worked for Diamond International for many years. Most people would know them from their little red/black boxes of wooden "strike anywhere" matches but Diamond was also a HUGE paper manufacturer who used nearly every needle off their trees before replanting their massive forests in the PNW as needed ... and were one of the first lumber companies to do this. Diamond actually began as the Diamond Match Company in 1881 but soon branched out into other related industries. BTW: until the mid-60's even those little match boxes were made of wood! I was always amazed they could shave a tree down to that thinness. FYI: toothpicks were another standard product for Diamond and -like those matches and their boxes- these too were made from scrap lumber.

But as big as both were, neither the paper and match divisions were anywhere nearly as extensive as their lumber mills and for many decades you couldn't buy a 2"x4" without seeing a little red or black [a red one indicated it was "premium" stock] diamond stamped on one end. Even so, the paper division produced raw wood pulp that was turned into cardboard boxes of all kinds that were present in nearly every home in this country and abroad. From Post Toasties to Amana refrigerators, chances are those boxes began in a Diamond forest somewhere in Washington state.

What many people don't understand is that the lumber industry is just as volatile as petroleum and the market prices go up and down every hour on global stock exchanges. Whenever there were large forest fires in the PNW the old teletype machine in our office would constantly rattle as we got messages from the field advising us of projected manufacturing impacts.

As I said above, Diamond was incredibly diversified as they used every part of the trees they grew. Another of their major divisions was Specialty printing, where I worked. We printed virtually ALL labels for major California canneries and wineries/distilleries and it was common to see orders for 30 million Chablis labels cross my desk [I specialized in wine/liquor labels] ... but, as their forests were decimated by massive wild fires or sold off through redevelopment projects those big divisions gradually withered like a diseased Cedar and closed.

By the mid-80's Diamond was bankrupt and sold. But those humble little wooden matches of 1881 saved their asses: today and after several corporate shakeups, they are still the largest match manufacturer in the U.S. and an equally-common brand is their "Royal Oak" line of charcoal brickettes, smoker wood chunks and compressed pellets for stoves... which are all still made from scrap lumber.

BTW: throughout the 20's, 30's and 40's Diamond's produce crate labels [even those wooden crates were made by Diamond] were things of genuine beauty since they commissioned leading commercial artists to design them. Our San Francisco regional HQ office files bulged with those gems and over the years I pulled several prime examples for my own collection. Today those 80-year old labels are worth a fortune to serious collectors.

So, the next time you see one of those little boxes of matches on a store shelf, stop and think about the journey they took to stay there... and they're still a staple in nearly every prepper's hoard!

And if you ever tear into an old house and see a stud with an odd little diamond stamped on it... you'll know where it came from!

Last Edited by GSB/LTD on 09/22/2020 11:52 AM

Its absoultely tragic. All this lumber wealth and it doesnt belong to US/ Canadians.

Its absoultely tragic. All this lumber wealth and it doesnt belong to US/ Canadians.

Its absoultely tragic. All this lumber wealth and it doesnt belong to US/ Canadians.

Just got a price for the removal of an old wood fence and vinyl replacement for 7k. Not bad. Local stores are stocked to the hilt. 275 LF

No pics?

also demand is up from Gulf Coast hurricane damage

Just signed the contract. Five weeks out. Will Imgur.

I'm in North Georgia and a lumber mill is right up road...THERE IS NO SHORTAGE AS MY GIRL WHO NEVER SAW OT BEFORE SAID " ISNT ALL THOSE STACKS OF WOOD GUNA ROT IN THE RAIN?? there was a plethera of wood ...

I am the yard foreman at a (real) lumberyard in Florida. Most of our white wood studs come from Europe and always have. The Canadian variants have always cost more even given shipping costs. My suppliers run out of various products for 1-6 weeks at a time. This is due to the explosive building going on. My company has never been busier. Sales have NEVER been higher.

Our prices go up and down, depending on our cost. 4 months ago 1/2" cdx was about $18. Two months ago it was $35. Last month it was $25. Today it is $37. We sell 2-300 sheets a day of 1/2" cdx.

We sell mostly to contractors, though anyone can buy from us. The biggest selling lumber products for new construction/renos/additions are 2x6 and 2x8 PT and bright pine of all lengths. These sell out very quickly. I try to keep my yard fully stocked but the massive demand right now precludes that. I recently had to wait one week to get a unit of 2x6x10pt (128 sticks) and 2x8x16pt (96 sticks), two big sellers.

We deal with all the big suppliers. The same that supply Home Depot, Lowes, etc. Sometimes the less knowledgeable customers will say they're going to the Depot since we are out of an item. I tell them "good luck". The Depot doesn't have it either.