Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | June 7, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 11 think a lot of our clients are having to do to react to the changing economics, the building environment," Lachapelle said. Tariffs & labor shortages While the coronavirus pandemic has upended life and the global economy, it's difficult to pin down any single cause behind increased lumber and steel costs, in part because pandemic-related causes, themselves, are varied. Although it's impossible to say for certain where the tipping point may have been that caused escalating prices, lumber and steel mills faced the same sorts of challenges as any other business at the beginning stages of the coronavi- rus crisis. Perhaps chief among them was finding a way to stay in business while keeping its labor force safe and intact. "COVID depleted the workforce in the mills, right, and then … when they came back, you were working under safety regulations," Capone said, like spacing employees six feet apart. "ey were struggling with, 'How do we reorganize so we can get the efficien- cies back to where they are?'" he said. en, aer a few months of adjusting to life under pandemic restrictions, a few things happened. For one, the demand for residential building went up. A May report from the U.S. Census Bureau indicated, in April, privately-owned housing units autho- rized by building permits were up 61% from April 2020. Privately-owned housing starts – where construction actually begins – were up 67% percent over the same period. At the same time, in the case of lumber, DIY projects were increasing in popularity as consumers opted to invest their new free time into bettering their homes. It was not uncommon, in spring of 2020, to see long lines of customers waiting outside of hardware stores on any given weekend. All of this happened against a spate of wildfires in the western United States, as well as an increase in tariffs on imported Canadian lumber which, according to an o-repeated statistic, is understood to account for about 28% of the U.S. lumber market. With that drop in supply, coupled with labor challenges and increased demand on the consumer level, as well as additional 2018-era tariffs on imported steel, it was a perfect storm for shortages in both sectors. "It was a multitude of those things rolled into one that kind of affected ev- erything, and we saw that across multiple trades," Capone said. Reclaimed world An odd space to occupy in all of this is the reclaimed lumber world. Arnie Jarmak, owner of e Jarmak Corp. in Oxford, a reclaimed wood company, said he's seen an uptick in inquiries in light of the ongoing shortage in new lumber. He's hopeful projects he's working on now may benefit from the increased demand and scarcity. Jarmak, which takes on a variety of projects, is reclaiming wood at the ongo- ing 1.8-million-square-foot Draper mill demolition in Hopedale, which Jarmak estimated might be the largest reclama- tion project in the country. Among the wood Jarmak is salvaging, for the first time, is spruce, the kind of sowood so hotly in demand. "I'm hoping that because of the in- crease in pricing and availability of this material, that we'll have a market for it, and it's a lot of material," Jarmak said. at said, wood reclamation hasn't been without its own woes. Jarmak said while his company isn't facing any short- ages, access to certain equipment needs has been a challenge. is equipment shortage has been a particular problem with metal roofing and chainsaws, he said. "We're having to repair old equip- ment," Jarmak said. Still, Jarmak is keeping his nose to the ground while his counterparts in the new-lumber sector navigate what are pretty widely agreed to be uncharted waters. "Today, with the craziness in the lum- ber market, I'm thinking we have a little better chance of succeeding," Jarmak said. Cost attributed to Month rising lumber prices August 2020 $16,000 February 2021 $24,000 April 2021 $35,872 Source: National Association of Home Builders Residential construction costs Rising lumber prices nationally during the coronavirus pandemic have added to the cost of average price of building a single-family home. Projects such as the Courthouse Lofts in Worcester and the Legacy Farms housing development in Hopkinton avoided the pandemic-related spike in material costs, as they were well underway before the impact. To learn more, visit one of our branches or give us a call at 774.420.7700. Member FDIC Rockland Trust has options that make your banking easier: • 95+ branches, 160+ ATMs • Free access to thousands of ATMs through the SUM network 1 • Free online banking with bill pay • Free mobile banking 2 • Free mobile check deposit 1. Rockland Trust may charge you a fee for the use of another bank's ATM. 2. Mobile banking is offered as a free service of Rockland Trust. You may incur and are responsible for any charges assessed by your mobile carrier. Contact your mobile carrier for more information. Find your nearest location Stop by our new Shrewsbury branch at Lakeway Commons | 193 Boston Tpke PHOTOS/GRANT WELKER W

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