Back to the subject,,,;
I say, the excuse of supply and demand is bunk.
I can tell from personal experience that four years ago, lumber was in short supply. Most of my building projects involve framing lumber and treated wood products. I often went to three or four stores to get enough 5/4 treated planks to do a simple deck. Shelves were empty of the sizes needed, I had to buy longer boards and throw away 24" pieces because my ten foot wide deck didn't need the twelve foot boards that were available.
But in 2017; 2018 or 2019, I didn't see a major price fluctuation or increase. Not once.
With the Trump tariffs on hardware parts, there was some shortage issues. But I don't recall major price increases. Inflation was virtually non existent at those times yet citizen buying power increased because, for the first time in decades, wages increased more than inflation.
Since 2019 some of these items have tripled in price. With no real or honest explanation. We import a lot of lumber products from Canada. And a lot of hardware parts (nails, screws, brackets) from the Pacific rim nations, Korea, China, Vietnam, India. Has the dollar lost value to these currencies? If so why did it happen in the last four to six months?
The buck, off almost 5% in 2020, could dive another 20%, Citigroup warns.
www.ai-cio.com
Your wealth is steadily evaporating. Why doesn't a dollar stretch like it used to?
www.thetrumpet.com