Back to Blog Apr 01 2021

The cost of Lumber in 2021

Lumber prices have gone up 130% since April of 2020. Can we blame this all on COVID 19 or are there other factors at play here? Yeah, there have been a ton of people fixing up their homes while on lockdown and maybe they built a deck or a treehouse for their kids to play in but has that really pushed lumber prices that high? Were the shipping and production delays so huge as to have some of the highest lumber prices in decades? The numbers would say yes but there is also a bigger long term problem contributing to this and its climate change. The change in climate has increased wildfires and pine beetle infestations in British Columbia so much so that there have been several closures of mills in the province. According to the government of Canada website they are the number 1 country of softwood lumber export in the world and 63% of that comes from British Columbia. When you look at the big picture you could totally say that COVID caused a spike in prices but climate change is what is going to push them even further.

Check out the links below to learn more:

https://globalnews.ca/news/7276005/lumber-prices-2020-home-building-costs/
http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/our-natural-resources/forests-forestry/forest-fact-book/forest-products/21685