Wimmera timber yards are reporting shortages as construction projects across the region continue to be delayed by up to several years.
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Horsham Mitre 10 owner, Chris Jones, said he had never seen a shortage like the present scarcity of timber.
"There was a fair bit of disbelief in the industry, initially, due to the supply shortage because shortages are generally to bring the price up," he said.
"That's not the case this time."
Mr Jones said Horsham Mitre 10 had received calls from places as far afield as Geelong and Melbourne looking for timber.
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"People are just ringing up all the timber yards looking for product," Mr Jones said.
"The whole supply chain is in a bit of strife at the moment."
According to Mr Jones, supply is down across the board.
"Some of our key suppliers might take up to twelve months to get back up to stock, when the stock becomes available. We're on allocations at the moment," he said.
"Our biggest supplier in Melbourne usually has 13 thousand packs of timber in stock. They've got two thousand now."
The whole supply chain is in a bit of strife at the moment.
- Chris Jones
Mr Jones said timber shortages, as well as other building materials, was contributing to the Wimmera region's construction gridlock.
Projects that might take six months might now take a year or more.
"If you're old mate chippy, instead of taking six months to do the job, you're looking twelve to eighteen months down the track," Mr Jones said.
Managing the shortage means prioritising and working with builders to help manage supply, according to Mr Jones.
"It's definitely slowed us down a fair degree. We've got a fair bit in stock, we're looking out for the guys who shop with us a lot of time," he said.
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"The way I've been working with my builders is, I tell them to call me if they've got a project and let me know what they need. If that's not available, I'll ask them to go do a bathroom or something like that.
"If you want product, just go on a waiting list. If you don't put an order in and go on a waiting list, you're probably not going to have any chance of getting it, really."
Mr Jones said the shortages would likely cycle through all kinds of lumber.
"There's a shortage on pine at the moment, other treatments of pine will become short. LBL are becoming short and hardwood will become short as well, as people start using that as a substitute," he said.
The shortage won't go away any time soon, Mr Jones said.
"It's not going to get any easier for a long time going forward."
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