What Is Causing Price Increases on Flooring Materials?

From groceries to clothes, you may have noticed that all sorts of products have gotten more expensive over the past year. That trend is especially apparent in the flooring industry. Since last year, the prices of hardwood, laminate, vinyl tile and carpet products have all increased anywhere from 4 to 8 percent.

But what’s behind the price increases on flooring materials? The answer is a lot of things all coming together at once. Continue reading to learn why you can expect to pay more for your floors this year.

Raw materials

The first factor that’s causing a price increase is the fact that lumber costs are at an all-time high. If lumber prices go up, so do the prices of hardwood floors. Prices for hardwood floors have increased anywhere from 15 to 70 percent. The increased lumber costs are due to species scarcity, fuel inflation and a lack of truck delivery.

But even if you’re not getting all-natural hardwood floors, you may still see a price increase. This is because higher-end engineered floors are built using softwoods for cores and backing. Prices for some engineered floors have gone up 50 percent in the past year.

Labor

Getting people back to work since the pandemic has been a challenge in many industries. To recruit and retain employees, many companies have raised wages—this is the case in the flooring industry. If you’re familiar with economics, employers often pass their higher labor costs on to their customers.

While the price increase can be hard to stomach, it’s comforting to know that workers are being paid a better wage for their hard labor. This isn’t just the case in America, either. Cambodian manufacturers have also raised wages, resulting in price increases on flooring materials across the globe.

Transportation

Obtaining wood and any other necessary raw materials is just the first step in installing your new floors. Once the manufacturer has materials and creates the floors, they need to ship them to a distributor. Shipping was a big enough hassle before the pandemic, but it’s only gotten more difficult in the past year.

The transportation industry is experiencing an overall lack of drivers, and COVID-19 only made the situation worse. Fewer drivers means higher transportation costs—and, just like the labor shortage mentioned above, those higher costs are passed onto the consumer.

When will the prices return to normal?

It’s tough to say when—or if—prices will ever drop back to pre-pandemic levels. That said, there’s a good chance that manufacturers and shipping companies will be able to adapt to labor and material shortages in the coming years. Once the companies adapt, they may be able to lower their prices once again.

Buy your floors from The Wholesale House

Although we were not immune to the price increases on flooring materials, we strive to offer most competitive pricing on all of our high-quality flooring products. Contact The Wholesale House today to learn more about our selection of hardwood, vinyl and carpet flooring options.

Categorised in: Flooring Store

This post was written by Writer