Lumber Companies Experience Market Spike During Pandemic, Connected to High Demand

Many Northland businesses have been hit hard by the pandemic but for some, it’s been a boom for business.

NORTHLAND – Many Northland businesses have been hit hard by the pandemic but for some, it’s been a boom for business.

Lumber companies expected the demand for their products was going to drop, but it did just the opposite.

In early 2020, nobody knew what to expect. Lumber mills slowed down and pulled back production, expecting a slowdown in the market but instead, there ended up being a spike.

Demand started increasing dramatically as more people were staying home and working on projects.

Interest rates also helped as they continue to remain low, leading more people to borrow funds to finish up projects or start new ones.

“We thought we were going to have a really poor year and it just turned out to be the opposite because there was just so much demand for the product and so the suppliers couldn’t keep up,” said Frank Gerard, the president of Campbell Lumber.

Building products have also increased in price. Lumber itself has gone up 80% because of the lack of supply.

For those hoping to do their own projects, experts say that preplanning is key.

In the past, customer orders would take about three to four weeks, but because of COVID along with the lack of supply, it’s reasonable to accept it to come in five, six or even seven weeks.

“Some of it’s COVID-based, you can’t ignore the, but a lot of it’s just supply and demand-based,” said Nick Minardi, a partner at Minardi Lumber. “So we’re seeing a year comparable to last year. I don’t see any reason why it would change in terms of market demand and product availability.”

The business owners say that they are also seeing an increase in food traffic because people want to do projects with family-owned and operated lumberyards.