NEW ORLEANS — For something like home improvements during the time of COVID, there are essentially two options right now: pay up or put off.
The price of lumber, for example, is going through the roof.
At Wilson Bourg Lumber on North Peters Street, staff can easily rattle off the rising prices.
“There are the two-by-fours that are going up,” said Mike Giardina: “$3.42 to $10.44 -- in a year.”
It’s all thanks to the COVID-19 outbreak, sending everything to a screeching halt and prices soaring as things reopen.
"The lumber mills closed up. When they closed up, everybody was still doing repairs and stuff to their houses,” Giardina said. “They drained the lumber supply.”
It’s been hard to catch up, even all these months later.
Meanwhile, gasoline and groceries are also on the rise.
You’ll pay about 22 percent more now to fill up the tank. Basics like bacon and beef are up more than seven percent.
Retailers said they would not be surprised to see higher demand and prices through the rest of the year.
Putting those more expensive groceries away or cooking them could be a challenge if you need a new refrigerator, oven or stove.
Paul Klein Jr., the CEO of Camp Better Living, says the same supply-chain problems are plaguing the appliance business for the same reasons -- and more.
“With more and more people working from home, the demand and usages of appliances -- stuff’s breaking more, they’re using their refrigerator 30 percent more, they’re washing more clothes at home,” he said.
That means holes in showroom displays to meet the demand.
"You just hustle to get the products and if you have to sell it off the floor you do what you can.”
Otherwise, the wait is far longer than you might expect.
“Generally, when we’re getting products within seven to 10 days, now it’s four to six months.”