Hardwood Flooring Producers Face Tight Supplies

New York, NY, March 5, 2013 -- Prices are rising for wood used in hardwood flooring, according to the Hardwood Market report.

The March edition features a graph of hardwood prices, which shows that prices have been rising steadily since about February of last year. They're back to levels last seen in early 2011.

The report's analysis is that hardwood flooring manufacturers face tightening raw material supplies and there's no quick solution.

Some producers, the report says, have cut operating hours to conserve inventory.

However, the biggest problem producers face is rising demand for finished products.

"Should sawmills have the desire and financial wherewithal to increase lumber output, it could be months before weather and ground conditions improve enough to support consistent logging," the report says.

"From there, it will take more time before fresh sawn lumber can be properly dried and available for use in flooring manufacturing. The trouble is, many sawmills do not have the financial capacity to rapidly hike log purchases, boost production, and assume higher accounts receivables. There are similar doubts about logging operations ramping up."