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Happy New Year to all:
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We are thankful and are grateful to all of our customers both new and old for your continued support through 2020 into 2021. With all that has happened in the US and around the world since the Covid-19 shutdowns/restrictions we have been part of the fortunate workforce that has been operating daily without interruption. We are a proud independent small business with a great group of caring, dedicated and reliable employees who are thrilled to be servicing our loyal, hardworking and self-reliant customer base on a daily basis. While there have been many product price increases and delays in finding inventory everyone in the building industry has been pushing through making the best of the pandemic and the changes it has forced upon us.
Looking a head to 2021 we have put up a couple of notices and a chart so you can see what has been happening at the mill levels. A couple of things stand out.
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Last year the forecast for new home starts was around 1 million nationwide while in reality we hit nearly 1.6 million – this demand took a lot of wood out of the market, with demand comes higher prices.
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At the mill levels prices have been deflated for almost 20 years and with this opportunity to finally make some money they are doing just that – keeping prices up and letting them soar to new levels with the demand.
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Transportation is always an issue with the railroads and now even more with truckers and the restrictions they face.
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Near the end of 2019 multiple mills were closed in Western Canada taking a lot of board footage off the market forever due to a beetle infestation in the forests, once these mills close it is to expensive to open again especially without the trees needed to keep them running efficiently.
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Add in the restrictions, sicknesses and shutdowns from the Corona virus throughout the industry from the first steps of logging through the arrival in retail yards this has caused strains in every category of inventory.
We had a dip in pricing in the market in November for a short time but it has once again risen to the highest levels we have ever seen. It looks like the continued demand as well as the building industry staying strong prices are going to be at these levels for at least the first half of 2021. We look forward to serving you again this year and we are available to discuss or answer any questions or concerns you may have. We wish all good health and continued success in 2021 and we are here to help in any way that we can.