Author Topic: Plywood Prices... argh! (Read 21858 times)

Ross Davis · « **on:** March 24, 2022, 08:11 AM »

Just curious...

So what are you paying for plywood these days?

My local Menards prices are up about 50% or so.

Has anyone been forced to cancel or delay jobs do to the hefty prices?

Any thoughts if prices will drop within the next year?

Kpp80202 · « **Reply #1 on:** March 24, 2022, 08:34 AM »

Just paid $70 a sheet for 3/4”x30”x60” Baltic birch. Ouch.

woodferret · « **Reply #2 on:** March 24, 2022, 09:42 AM »

BB 4x8 shop grade was $110 CDN at my local reno store. 7-ply mystery birch was $130.

jobsworth · « **Reply #3 on:** March 24, 2022, 11:37 AM »

6 mm 4x8 baltic birch going for $51, 3/4 maple 4x8 $110

Packard · « **Reply #4 on:** March 24, 2022, 02:54 PM »

3/4" maple ply (4' x 8') at Lowes @ $72.98

3/4" MDF (49" x 97") at Lowes @$59.98

3/4" x 3.5" x 8' maple hardwood $35.98 each. (ouch)

Crazyraceguy · « **Reply #5 on:** March 24, 2022, 06:19 PM »

Quote from: Packard on March 24, 2022, 02:54 PM

3/4" maple ply (4' x 8') at Lowes @ $72.98

3/4" MDF (49" x 97") at Lowes @$59.98

3/4" x 3.5" x 8' maple hardwood $35.98 each. (ouch)

That last one is a real ouch! 36 bucks for an 8 foot 1 x 4? wow

Packard · « **Reply #6 on:** March 25, 2022, 08:54 AM »

I just bought two pieces of the maple. And $70.00 really hurt. Red Oak was almost the same. Poplar was not much cheaper.

Walter Cronkat · « **Reply #7 on:** March 25, 2022, 10:24 AM »

I'm in Reno, NV.
Last weeks prices
12mm Baltic birch 4x8 $96.49
3/4" Rift White oak 4x8 $189.85
3/4'' Pre finished maple 4x8 $130
1/4" Pre finished maple 4x8 $60

These are crazy prices, but I havent lost a job yet due to them.

SRSemenza · « **Reply #8 on:** March 25, 2022, 11:03 AM »

Actually those prices are down. Less than a year ago I paid $190 per sheet for just 'OK' quality MDO. With prefin and veneered birch / maple at about the same.

Seth

Richard/RMW · « **Reply #9 on:** March 25, 2022, 01:51 PM »

I'm starting to look like a genius for all the extra material I bought "so I'd have it"...

Some 10/4 maple I purchased in Nevada ~30 years ago then hauled (possibly back) to PA ought the be about seasoned by now.

Disassembled a couple 80/20 & plywood carts recently and I salvaged 2-3 sheets worth of 18mm birch ply, it's being repurposed into some new shop cabinets soon.

And the boss asks why I keep everything.

RMW

Peter_C · « **Reply #10 on:** March 25, 2022, 03:21 PM »

Plywood doesn't seem to be coming down in price and I need to go get another sheet of pre-finished Baltic birch this weekend. About to build a shed too, but thankfully I already have 70% of the materials needed, and probably have extra construction plywood even.

We just cut up a truck load...or rather a bunch of skid steer loads of oak logs to get rid of them. I so wish I had a giant bandsaw or at least an Alaskan mill to process wood rounds. I did keep two logs to attempt to process thru my small 16" Doall bandaw. Going to have to free hand them with a chainsaw first though.

"If it is FREE it is for me!" Recycling is the way to go.

rvieceli · « **Reply #11 on:** March 25, 2022, 04:14 PM »

@Peter_C the are quite a few folks around the country with bandsaw mills that will cut for you. Quite a few are still portable and they’ll come to you.

Woodmizer keeps a list on their website

https://woodmizer.com/us/Find-a-Local-Sawyer

Ron

Peter_C · « **Reply #12 on:** March 25, 2022, 04:20 PM »

Thanks Ron for that I book marked it. My neighbor does rent a space to a guy who does GIANT redwood slabs and could do them, but then they aren't free, and I would have to trailer to him. I can't imagine someone coming with a mill cheap.

rvieceli · « **Reply #13 on:** March 25, 2022, 04:40 PM »

Your mileage will obviously vary but one of my sawyers usually charges 50 to 60 cents a board foot.

woodferret · « **Reply #14 on:** March 25, 2022, 04:57 PM »

Things are silly enough that I just saw my local selling MDF at 2x8x3/4 sheets. Makes sense if you need only a little, but I never thought I'd see that.

Richard/RMW · « **Reply #15 on:** March 25, 2022, 09:39 PM »

It's a quandary for me. I typically buy full sheets even when I need a small amount, figuring I'll eventually use the excess, but storage is tight right now. 1/2" MDF 4' by 8' is <$50 at the local box, and north of $20 for 2' by 4'. Nearly 2X the unit cost to just get the small amount I need.

1st world problems...

RMW

dwillis · « **Reply #16 on:** March 26, 2022, 06:37 PM »

I have a large cabinet project in my workshop that needed 25 sheets of 5x5 3/4 Baltic birch plywood. Several months ago I went to three distributors in the Portland, OR area and found prices ranging from $110 to $152 per sheet. Because the distributors source this plywood out of Russia I was recently told that all their orders had been cancelled and the only material available was what was already in stock that had been ordered months before.

Coen · « **Reply #17 on:** April 10, 2022, 01:47 PM »

Yes. Some local governments here are obsessed with wood skelet houses, contrary to the 99% concrete inside, masonry outside, but as it turns out, most of that wood came from Russia or Bellarus. So I guess this segment will not grow that much in the near future...

I didn't buy any plywood recently, but everything non-plywood is going up too. The constant is that what gets created out of thin air ($,€,£,¥) goes down in value. That started long before the current Russian war in Ukraine, but Putin still gets blamed for it all.

Also a lot of stuff simply not available or with insane lead times. Shortages push potential buyers to stockpile in advance, exacerbating the problem.

4nthony · « **Reply #18 on:** April 21, 2022, 07:40 PM »

My local dealer in Los Angeles is selling 18mm 5x5 Baltic Birch for $138/retail, $128/contractor.

I was hoping they might start carrying some alternatives but nothing yet.

This guy is talking about using Eucalyptus plywood for his projects.

tallgrass · « **Reply #19 on:** April 25, 2022, 02:40 AM »

The prices are nuts. however I have over 100 sheets of finland ply in everything from blue, yellow , grey. green .white and natural mapple. I bought it all a couple of years ago from the man's wife that imported it and she was unable to get rid of of it. So I bought it, now I feel that I must have done something right for once..... usually when I buy something to save money it never works out. lol.lol. Who knew that the Kakistocracy would make me look smart. lol.

Bob D. · « **Reply #20 on:** April 25, 2022, 05:02 AM »

Isn't Appleply made in Oregon. Should be available in CA.

https://www.statesind.com/where-to-buy/

4nthony · « **Reply #21 on:** April 25, 2022, 12:10 PM »

Quote from: Bob D. on April 25, 2022, 05:02 AM

Isn't Appleply made in Oregon. Should be available in CA.

https://www.statesind.com/where-to-buy/

I was picking up some drawer slides from my local dealer and asked about Appleply. He said was having a hard time getting inventory and thought they might be going out of business but wasn't sure. The website buyappleply.com also mentions supply issues ("Due to overwhelming demand and current global supply chain issues, we have limited inventory or are out of stock on certain items. Please check back soon for updates.")

He also mentioned he is getting stock of EuroPly within the next week but said 4x8 sheets will be priced somewhere in the $175 - $225 range.

Europly looks pretty good and I think it's the same product Kerf Designs uses with their cabinets.

DynaGlide · « **Reply #22 on:** April 25, 2022, 12:19 PM »

Local distributor here in Northern VA is selling 5x5 3/4 Baltic birch for $123/ea. That's more than double what I woulda paid 2 years ago.

But they do have it in stock at least.

xedos · « **Reply #23 on:** April 25, 2022, 12:35 PM »

Quote from: DynaGlide on April 25, 2022, 12:19 PM

But they do have it in stock at least.

availability surcharge

serge0n · « **Reply #24 on:** April 25, 2022, 03:56 PM »

Quote from: Bob D. on April 25, 2022, 05:02 AM

Isn't Appleply made in Oregon. Should be available in CA.

https://www.statesind.com/where-to-buy/

Seriously? 3/4" Appleply goes for $272 per 4x8 sheet. They don't sell it in 4x8 sizes, so that's the price for 2 4x4 sheets. And shipping is insanely expensive. Not a contender.

Regarding BB, my local Rockler has some 1/2" in stock for less than $50 per 5x5 sheet. I'll probably go grab a few later this week.
Local hardwood dealer wants $199 per sheet for B grade 3/4" BB. 1/2" is $177.

I was told the price went up due to Biden's sanctions since Baltic birch is made in Russia and we are now getting it from Finland - which buys it in Russia and adds a nice margin to resell it to US.

Bob D. · « **Reply #25 on:** April 25, 2022, 05:15 PM »

"...we are now getting it from Finland - which buys it in Russia and adds a nice margin to resell it to US."

Which I believe they always did (marked up for import to NA) not just since Biden took office.

guybo · « **Reply #26 on:** April 25, 2022, 07:24 PM »

Quote from: Bob D. on April 25, 2022, 05:02 AM

Isn't Appleply made in Oregon. Should be available in CA.

https://www.statesind.com/where-to-buy/

Coen · « **Reply #27 on:** April 25, 2022, 08:14 PM »

Quote from: Bob D. on April 25, 2022, 05:15 PM

"...we are now getting it from Finland - which buys it in Russia and adds a nice margin to resell it to US."

Which I believe they always did (marked up for import to NA) not just since Biden took office.

Well, years ago Putin said something like;

'You guys in Western Europe... ok, you don't want nuclear energy. Ok, you don't want coal power... well, oh, no natural gas either? You want to get electricity from burning wood? I've got some trees in Siberia to sell you.'

But Finland has a bunch of forest too. You sure they get it from Russia?

serge0n · « **Reply #28 on:** April 25, 2022, 11:09 PM »

Quote from: Coen on April 25, 2022, 08:14 PM

But Finland has a bunch of forest too. You sure they get it from Russia?

The sheets I get from my local hardwood supplier have a "made in Russia" stamp.
A lot of European countries have a bunch of forest. Pine boards at my local HD are from Sweden. Do they have birch trees of similar size and quality in Finland? The technological process and glue composition matters as well.

xedos · « **Reply #29 on:** April 26, 2022, 09:41 AM »

I've asked this before , but seems like another good time to bring up -

Any of you going to consider wood alternatives like wheat & straw board now that the prices are competitive with reg. ply ?

https://www.caragreen.com/brands/wheat-board/