For some builders in Australia, the consequences of the timber shortage seem to be too serious, and some builders’ businesses even went bankrupt.
After the Australian Federal Government announced incentives that led to a surge in the residential construction industry, the timber supply was almost used up.
The surge in demand has led to a shortage of wood supplies, and the inflation of wood products has begun to run out of control, forcing many builders to consider more expensive alternatives, such as steel and masonry.
For some builders, they need to make an impossible choice between being forced to pay exorbitant material prices or accepting delays and the consequent liquidated damages. The shortage of timber has become the last straw that overwhelms many builders.
For some homeowners who are building houses, the shortage of wood has caused budget blowouts or project delays, which means that they have to sell partially built houses.
01. Housing decoration is seriously affected
Both Kate and her husband Paul from Australia work in the construction industry and are no strangers to decoration, but this has not prevented their current decoration from being affected. Eighteen months ago, timber was still easily available. One of our biggest problems now comes from wood. The price of wood we need is rising sharply, especially processed pine, which is the standard external wood that everyone uses to make anything, and its price varies from per meter. $2.20 rose to $5.68 per meter
Due to the shortage of wood, Kate’s house renovation was seriously delayed
02, builders suffered catastrophic impact
It is not just small home builders that are affected by the shortage of timber; the shortage of timber has also had a catastrophic impact on larger, reputable contractors.
Builders are in a dilemma
"I heard stories about several large builders who were forced to return their construction contracts to their clients because they could no longer build houses as originally agreed," Henry said.
"Some things need to be paid," she warned those who wanted to renovate. "It's either your time, your choice of materials, or your money-sometimes a combination of the three. If your ideal item is not available, you can only be prepared and compromised."
House owners face new challenges
Victoria Wilson, who has just started building the house, agreed, saying "We have already expected to exceed the budget by $100,000, and there is no clear completion date, so we have to compromise."
The shortage of wood meant that she had to go through a new test. "The timber shortage has affected us too much, and we have to redesign our house," Victoria said.
For the builder who signed the contract with her, Victoria expressed sympathy, "He had to sign a new contract with the frame supplier because the timber mill did not know when the next shipment would arrive, and they did not know the price. "
03. Construction demand emptied timber inventory
Today, Australia is purchasing more and more frame timber from abroad. But with the construction boom caused by local industry incentives, so far, most of Australia's timber that is usually used for export has been hollowed out.
In late September, the Australian Federal Government announced an investment of 15 million U.S. dollars to alleviate the severe timber shortage and "protect the viability of builders and traders across the country."
This measure is: "abandon the wood plantations that have suffered bushfires, directly recycle all wood, and transport the wood to a wood factory capable of processing to get subsidies, which is very practical."
But for many builders, if there are no plantations, this unsustainable measure will make the wood shortage in the next 10 years even more insecure.
Although government investment is a welcome reprieve for many people, there are also industry insiders who speculate that the prospects for timber supply are not optimistic.
The Australian Forest Products Association warned that by 2035, Australia will be short of 250,000 housing frames. As they describe, “the area where the timber production is short is equivalent to the total area of Geelong and Newcastle.
