Timber prices put firms at risk

Timber prices have soared a staggering 60 per cent in just 12 months raising fears that smaller Midlands merchants could be forced to close.

Swedish suppliers are increasingly supplying growing markets in Asian countries, forcing up demand and in turn prices.

Pallet and case bosses at E Hammond, in Noose Lane, Willenhall, say they have been forced to order months in advance – with little certainty stocks will arrive and at what price.

Prices for timber sold in quantities known as cubes, have risen from £117 each this time last year to £190 this month.

And there are signs that the price increases are starting to hit the plywood market, one of the most popular products used by DIY enthusiasts in home and garden improvements.

Earler this week the Express & Star revealed how DIY fans were being forced to travel 60 miles to find supplies of fence panels while others were buying expensive panels on the black market.

Hammond managing director John Hammond said: “We have passed on some of the cost to the customer but not all of it. They can’t believe the prices have gone up so much and I haven’t seen anything like it in the 30 years I have been here.”