16.5 % price increase in Ply since last year?

The Duk

Just wondering if any one else is noticing a price increase in sheet material?

I've just used up the last batch of 18 mm birch ply which I bought before Christmas, just checked the cost of new sheets and the price has jumped 16.5% It's basically the same for Marine Ply. this is with my usual supplier, I'm just wondering if anyone else is seeing costs jump up?

The Duk

Looks like we can blame covid and the US???

https://www.politifact.com/article/2021/apr/15/yes-price-plywood-range-252-market-factors-blame/

Graham

and Brexit. Prices have jumped across the board.

CelticRambler

Nothing to do with Brexit. The prices for (and availability of) sheet material are due almost entirely to the effect of climate change on the US.

Over there, most construction is pretty shoddy and buildings are essentially treated as "disposable" (lower building standards than on this side of the Atlantic, and a widespread lack of insurance for many income groups). The rise in the number of "abnormal weather events" has created an increasing amount of destruction, with a particularly aggressive series of events in 2019-2020.

As a result, demand was already high and supply problems were emerging when Covid hit the fan, with the resultant disruption to manufacturing pushing prices up even more. When non-European suppliers started coming back on stream, they were able to produce ply and osb more easily - and cheaper - for the American market than the Europeans, because US rules and regs aren't as fussy about what stuff goes into them.

Some EU-based factories have increased their production of EU-standard product in the first half of this year, to resolve the supply problems here, but it'll take a while for that to have an effect on prices.

Graham

Doesn't explain why the prices of other sheet materials have also increased by similar amounts unless the Americans are now building houses out of MFC.

the_pen_turner

How many mdf plants do we have in this country.
Surely we should be capable of supplying ourselves

beachhead

Sit down but not on the job and get ready for more increases.It's called supply and demand and where's me yacht this week

CelticRambler

Graham wrote: »

Doesn't explain why the prices of other sheet materials have also increased by similar amounts unless the Americans are now building houses out of MFC.

Melamine faced chipboard? If so, you can't melamine-face chipboard that's being sent off to a different production line.

But also, yes - the Americans build cabinets and shelves out of MFC, same as us, and all those that were destroyed in the fires, floods, hurricanes and tornados of 2019-2020 have to be rebuilt too.

tvjunki

Timber is grown here and plywood is made here.
Was there not a article in a newspaper that timber that has been grown there for construction cannot get license to cut down the forests due to one person objecting to the felling of the trees? Cases are held up in the courts at the minute.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/farming/arid-40057334.html
Also new licences to replant forests are delayed. Companies have to import from Uk.

Graham

beachhead wrote: »

Sit down but not on the job and get ready for more increases.

I suspect you're right, at least for a while. We're being hit from all angles:

Global supply chain issues (covid)
Increased prices/lead-times from the UK (Brexit)
Increased demand (post covid)
Increased demand (US weather)
Decreased supply (US plastics)
Logistics capacity (post-covid)

It's the perfect storm, material costs are jumping across the board for pretty much all materials.

biddyearley

This country now has a massive timber deficit thanks to the bullsh*t actions of the Forest Service delaying the issuing of all forest work licenses including felling licenses. Timber is now imported from Scotland and Europe to supply the mills.

Graham

Do we have much in the way of indigenous birch ply manufacturing?

biddyearley

Graham wrote: »

Do we have much in the way of indigenous birch ply manufacturing?

I doubt it. Birch is for firewood or chipped for fuel.

tabby aspreme

Birch ply comes from Scandanavia, the Baltic regions or Russia. I priced insulated slabs in January, bought them in March, they had increased in price by 20%, they were manufactured in August 2020, so someone was making a killing on them.

Kaybaykwah

The Duk wrote: »

Just wondering if any one else is noticing a price increase in sheet material?

I've just used up the last batch of 18 mm birch ply which I bought before Christmas, just checked the cost of new sheets and the price has jumped 16.5% It's basically the same for Marine Ply. this is with my usual supplier, I'm just wondering if anyone else is seeing costs jump up?

Count yourself lucky it's gone by only that much. In North America, the cost of ply has doubled, and steel roofing also. The price of lumber is the same on the NA continent. A numbe of mills were shut down during Covid and the pent up demand meant they had to rack up the prices. A lot of people here turned around and decided to invest in renos during the pandemic. I'm building a big garage slash art studio in the fall, and the contractor can't get a final until delivery on the steel roofing.