a lot of the problems we’re facing with costs and supply across all sectors is that in ‘normal times’ (if we can remember what they are) there has been a trend of companies maximising dividends each year by holding minimal stock and working on a just-in-time basis. This works fine for them day to day but leaves them vulnerable to periods of crisis (strikes, volcanos, weather, pestilence) – but actually they’re not vulnerable, we are. For the rest of us we face shortages when times are hard but for the suppliers…. shortages are as bonanza. Demand and prices are pushed up – not having enough to sell means you sell for as much as you like. This is the disaster capitalism folk talk about.
In my industry timber demand is high, prices are very high, and stocks in short supply and slow to arrive – some of this you can point to covid and Brexit and other global issues for – shipping costs and import problems, container ships wedged sideway in the Suez Canal a warm winter in Scandinavia . But the materials seemingly both in shortest supply and which has seen the highest price increase (almost 400%) – is boring old chipboard. I’m currently paying the same for cheapo chipboard as I am for premium Scandinavian plywood.
We produce chipboard in the Uk (if I stood on the roof I could see one of the factories from my house), from a mix of post industrial and reclaimed materials neither of which are in any short supply. With both prices and demand hight you’d think they’d all be turning the handle as fast as they can yes? Word is, some of them have actually halted their production lines – its better for them to slow down than speed up.
