Bought any plywood lately?

[Rick Potter]

My buddy and I picked up some plywood recently at our local cabinet supplier. The first thing the clerk said was that the price had taken a substantial jump. He gave us a flyer that said the government has put new tariffs on Chinese plywood, and the tariff would be going up 40-50%. This was instituted after years of domestic plywood makers complaining of not being able to compete, and the Chinese ply being of inferior quality.

The flyer also said that when the Chinese tariff became efective on March 1, the domestic plywood makers
raised their prices too.

We picked up domestic, paint grade maple ply to make some shop cabinets, and paid about $51 a sheet for it. That is their commercial price, street price is higher and large volume price is lower. Last time I think we paid about $40. Now, we were buying current stock, the clerk said it would probably be going higher as the full effect of the change kicks in.

Rick Potter

[Stephen Cherry]

Great, Imaginate what the price would be if the economy kicks back in

[Andrew Joiner]

Interesting. I was at the Orange Borg yesterday. I noticed the face veneers on oak and birch are thicker than 3 years ago. I think it's now all USA made . Prices haven't changed much if at all.
I bought some Oak ply 4 years ago. The oak was so thin it was not acceptable for sanding solid edging flush. It may have been non- USA made back then.

[Mark Bolton]

The sad part about this will be the domestic manufacturers using this as a way to inflate their prices when the very concept of the tariff was to level the playing field. Its not to say they may not have been selling at a slightly lower margin to maintain a market share against the imports but the domestic ply was always consistently priced as I recall.

The tariff is unfortunately necessary. Its simply not an apples to apples situation when comparing imports to domestics. Employee compensation, health care, withholdings, a living wage, environmental responsibilities, and so on. Its like running a legitimate business and having to compete with the guy back in the woods working out of his garage and dumping his waste/trash over the hill. Doesnt compute.

Hopefully the domestics will keep it in check but Im sure they will be long trying to recover from a sustained down period like the rest of us.

[David Weaver]

Presume if the domestics have a lot of room, sooner or later some of them are going to compete on quality if they don't have to compete on price. That wouldn't be such a bad thing, especially if you're building things for yourself. (had to buy a dozen sheets of cherry about a month ago. I'm glad I did).

[Jim German]

FYI the duty is either 22 or 27%, but keep in mind thats on the wholesale price.

[Mark Bolton]

For the heck of it I just called our supplier and they havent changed pricing on domestics nor have they had any word from their distribution that there will be any change though they seem to feel its likely it will go up but how much, if at all, is unknown. They are however seeing a shrinking supply of imports because importers have stopped placing orders with China while evaluating the effects of the tariff. I was told they dont expect to see any major changes in pricing until mid summer and that was just a guess.

I wonder if your supplier (Rick) is seeing a bit of a profit making potential in an event that hasnt really kicked in yet. Wouldnt be surprising.

[Fred Voorhees]

Interesting. I will try to remember to check out the veneer on the plywood the next time I hit the borg....which I have quite often since I have retired.

[John TenEyck]

I just bought some plywood at HD. Columbia Purebond - Made in USA. The maple and birch face veneers measured about 0.020", whereas the lousy Chinese stuff I last bought at my "full service" lumberyard was about half that and peeled off just looking at it. Oh, and the price was $39/sheet at HD, and $55 for the Chinese stuff. Who'd a thunk you could get a better product at HD, made in the USA, for less money?

John

[Dick Mahany]

I usually get plywood from my local borg when I'm making tobaggans, as I really like the pre formed curves that come standard with it. Since spring is here however I haven't purchased any lately and need to look at pricing.

[John TenEyck]

I take it your borg doesn't carry Columbia Purebond. Too bad, it's nice stuff. I've bought it three times over about 9 months now. Flat when I bought it, flat till I used it. Poplar core without any large voids, well matched veneer on the good side, ok on the other. It's the best stuff I can get short of custom ordered and, at over $100/sheet, that is only justified on the very high end projects.

John

[Dick Mahany]

I take it your borg doesn't carry Columbia Purebond. Too bad, it's nice stuff. I've bought it three times over about 9 months now. Flat when I bought it, flat till I used it. Poplar core without any large voids, well matched veneer on the good side, ok on the other. It's the best stuff I can get short of custom ordered and, at over $100/sheet, that is only justified on the very high end projects.

John

Good comment......I have read very good things about Columbia Purebond, but don't have any experience with it. I have used pre-finished ApplePly from a local cabinet shop supplier with outstanding results and now get all all of my sheet goods from them. It costs me a little more since I don't have a tax resale ID number,but the results are worth it.

[Peter Kelly]

My buddy and I picked up some plywood recently at our local cabinet supplier. The first thing the clerk said was that the price had taken a substantial jump. He gave us a flyer that said the government has put new tariffs on Chinese plywood, and the tariff would be going up 40-50%. This was instituted after years of domestic plywood makers complaining of not being able to compete, and the Chinese ply being of inferior quality.

The flyer also said that when the Chinese tariff became efective on March 1, the domestic plywood makers
raised their prices too.

We picked up domestic, paint grade maple ply to make some shop cabinets, and paid about $51 a sheet for it. That is their commercial price, street price is higher and large volume price is lower. Last time I think we paid about $40. Now, we were buying current stock, the clerk said it would probably be going higher as the full effect of the change kicks in.

Rick Potter

I'd change suppliers. The final decision on the Chinese plywood countervailing duty isn't expected until July with the subsequent tariff not going into effect until late fall 2013, not March 1. American suppliers can't compete on price as the Chinese government has been heavily subsidizing manufacturers of wood products for years now. That junky China ply typically sells for a tiny fraction of the domestically produced stuff.

Personally, I'm thrilled that the U.S. International Trade Commission is finally doing something about this. I'm tired as hell of China dumping this garbage on the market here. If it means paying a bit more for a far superior product that comes from responsibly managed source, then I'm all for it.

[Joe Shinall]

I bought a ton of 3/4 Chinese ply for $15 a sheet a while back. Didn't stain very well at all but painted and lacquered really nice. Starting to run out now, only 2 sheets left and the supplier I got it from has only had 1/2" for the past 3 months. Orange BORG sells 3/4 maple for $40 a sheet. That's gonna break the bank next time I need some.

[Rick Markham]

I got a very similar story this morning from a reputable cabinet supplier here. The domestic prices have jumped. He stocks both Chinese and domestic in several grades and several veneers. I personally am only interested in the domestic stuff, His Domestic B2 sheets looked flawless, couldn't see a void in the stack. The domestic D-3 looked voidless, but the surface veneer wasn't perfect (as expected with D-3)

As far as the politics of the tariff, the Chinese policy of "dumping" on the American market, the bottom line is it's the American cabinet maker that's going to flip the bill. Personally I'll be helping feed the American families that produce the domestic stuff, rather than the Chinese ones, and whomever or whatever government organization benefits from the tariff. Just my $.02