Lumber Slides as Surging Inflation Hammers DIY Renovation Market

  • DIY market accounts for 40% of lumber consumption: consultant
  • Inventory pile-up is also curbing demand from wholesale buyers
U.S. Inflation Rises at Fastest Annual Pace Since 1981
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Lumber prices are slipping to levels seen four months ago as soaring inflation curbs the appeal of do-it-yourself renovators to take on costly new home-improvement projects.

“The DIY sector is eroding because inflation is up,” Russ Taylor, a market consultant at Vancouver-based Russ Taylor Global, said in an interview. “Buyers are just walking away and saying ‘I’m not going to pay that kind of price’.”