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However, imports were slow to arrive due to shipping constraints.

Canada, historically the primary source of wood imports to the U.S., increased shipments of wood products to the U.S. Overall, the supply of wood from Canada and other countries was not enough to lower U.S. “It takes time to develop these skills, so ramping up production in a short period of time is not as easy as it was in the past.” “Because work in the wood products industry is becoming more mechanized, the workforce now needs to be more technically competent and highly trained,” says Prestemon. High-level skills are increasingly needed to work with advanced machines in wood processing facilities. Higher pay, however, did not result in enough extra workers to make up for increased demand and limited supply. “This is basic economics: when the supply curve shifts backwards and demand increases, prices will go up.”Īnother outcome of worker absences and departures was an increase in average industry wages. “Mills wanted to increase output, but they couldn’t find workers,” says Jeff Prestemon. At the end of the line were those of us who were homebound under travel restrictions, wanting to spend more money on home improvements.ĬOVID-19 resulted in large price changes for softwood lumber and other wood products like plywood and oriented strand board (Courtesy photo by Sam Beebe). The domino effect continued with supply chains further disrupted by a lack of truckers to move materials. The pandemic triggered a worker shortage in many sectors, including the forest products industry, which led tolimited availability of wood products, such as softwood lumber and structural panels (softwood plywood and oriented strand board). “The knowledge we develop in the Forest Service can lead to more mutually beneficial solutions and decision-making in both government and the private industry.” “As researchers, we investigate the reasons for a problem, quantify its impacts and look into solutions,” says Prestemon. Wholesale prices for plywood increased from $400 to $1500 per thousand square feet (roughly equivalent to retail prices of plywood increasing from about $12.80 to $48.00 per sheet).įorest Service Senior Research Forester and Project Leader Jeffrey Prestemon studies the market factors behind increased prices in these important consumer products.