Let’s talk about how covid-19 continues to effect the building materials supply chain…

Like why the heck are there so many “unexpected delays” for building materials in Canada more than a year into the coronavirus pandemic? 

Why are Calgary lumber and building materials SO expensive right now?

Here’s a press release from theWestern Retail Lumber Association, North America sees record high lumber prices amid supply shortage COVID-19 pandemic impacts supply chain and demand

A letter from Mountain View

Dear Builders, Contractors, Friends,

Currently, the COVID-19 bug is wreaking havoc at almost every level of the building materials supply chain. With each passing day comes new communications from our suppliers, vendors, and manufacturers, informing us of “unexpected delays”. Some of the reasons for these delays include, but are not limited to:

  • Forced reduction in staffing hindering production rates
  • COVID Cases or Close Contact cases within the workplace forcing businesses to temporarily halt production while waiting for test results
  • Reduced staffing resulting in a massive reduction in available freight options, specifically rail cars
  • International Freight arriving at Canadian ports is being held for extended periods of time due to reduced port workers, and quarantine times
  • And the list goes on…

We have even heard from one of our suppliers, that freight that was contractually negotiated and paid for prior to leaving international ports, is being held “ransom” on the water until a new higher freight charge is paid.

We witnessed and heard of instances similar to this last year. In anticipation of this repeat we are now witnessing in the early months of this year, we at Mountain View did our best to mitigate these delays and shortages by ordering heavy inventory and receiving product as early as we can get it. However, even with these efforts, we are still experiencing delays in many products.

We would like to thank those of you who have taken advantage of our material pre-buy offer, and encourage those of you who have not, to do so. By doing so not only have you secured material at lower prices, but you have helped us greatly with our material consumption forecasts. In turn, this will help us avoid lulls or gaps in supply throughout the building season.

Trust that we have the success of your businesses in mind with every decision we make. Materials have been ordered, en-route, and we are actively trying to preserve materials to keep you going all year!

Thank you for your support and your patience during this bizarre time. We appreciate you very much!

Sincerely,

Team MVBM