Lumber shortage strains budgets

CLOVIS - It's been 18 months since the first cases of COVID-19 were reported, yet the effects are still lingering, some in unexpected ways. Those who've bought homes, fixed fences, or done any DIY home improvement projects in the last year know first-hand that the price of wood has sky-rocketed since last spring. The world is experiencing a major lumber shortage.

The price of wood is up 288% since April 2020, despite lumber production reaching a 13-year high, according to Fortune magazine. The cause is multifaceted, said James Burns, who owns Clovis' Burns Do It Center.

When the pandemic began, lumber mills anticipated a decrease in demand and were left with fewer employees. "Instead, demand increased dramatically because of the money that the federal government flooded the economy with," Burns said. Using the extra money, "people were fixing up their homes and also buying new ones," he said.

Others trace the lumber price hike to import tariffs implemented by the Trump administration.

No matter the cause, the global crisis is affecting Clovis and the surrounding areas in more ways than one.

"The cost increase per average house is over $30,000," Burns said. Yet homebuyers are far from the only ones affected. "We sell lumber to lots of other industries like the dairies to use in their operations," Burns said. "As you know, they cannot raise prices to offset costs so it is affecting the bottom line for them."

For those who can get lumber, some have found that the quality of wood has decreased since the shortage began.

"The quality is not like it used to be," said Wayne Petner, majority owner of Two Horse Construction in Clovis. The subpar materials have arrived crooked and wet, Petner said. So his company has switched to using more metal, which is now less expensive than wood. But wood, according to Petner is not the only material whose costs have soared.

Everything from stucco, caulk, paint, and roofing supplies, are all more difficult to find now and, according to Petner, the shortages require purchasing materials further in advance. Though materials are harder to come by, Petner said business is booming.

"[People] are still building stuff," Petner said. "I was just at Lowe's ... and I've never seen it so packed. People are spending $10 for a two-by-four when they used to be $3."

While consumer habits seem to be keeping materials and services in demand, Burns said he anticipates the cost of wood to start declining soon. "(Prices may) be back to normal by the end of the year," according to Burns.

In the meantime, he said, "My recommendation is to reuse material if possible ... If you know of an old shed that needs to be torn down, recycle the wood."