As a company in the business of selling wood pellets year round – we are always watching supply/demand fluctuations through the seasons. While it’s scary to think of another wood pellet shortage, it’s impossible to ignore the increasingly tight supply of pellets at the moment.
While demand continued to rise through the 2018-19′ heating season due to increased pellet stove sales and high oil prices, the supply took some serious hits leaving the pellet market in a delicate, vulnerable state.
Aside from the fairly recent series of catastrophic mill fires that crippled production, inventory building has been seriously hindered by weather. Last year’s winter stretched far into spring, which depleted much of the inventory normally built up over the summer. Plus, the extremely wet fall months and bitterly cold November led to historically low levels of raw material and finished product.
While we want to avoid causing a panic – we also want to be honest with our customers about what we’re seeing. For those who remember the winter of 2014, pellet shortages can occur very quickly and without much warning. However, right now the warning signs are glaring. For example, most mills currently have about 20 percent of the inventory as they had last year at this time – and even last year was tight.
In order to stay shortage-proof and avoid inevitable price increases, we strongly recommend you secure your pellet fuel for the next heating season now if you’re able…or at least well in advance.
As a year-round wood pellet retailer, we’re always seeing fluctuations in pricing and supply/demand through the seasons. However, the beginning of the 2018-’19 heating season has its fair share of complications.
About 50 miles west of Columbus Ohio, the His Hands Extended Sanctuary in St. Paris provides medical care, food, and shelter to homeless pets that would otherwise be forgotten. The organization notes that what’s also very importantly provided is “lots of love – to begin the rebuilding of shattered lives.” His Hands Sanctuary not only facilitates the adoption of these animals into loving families, but also provides a comfortable lifelong home for those not adopted.
Tell your friend about Woodpellets.com, and he or she will get $25 off their first order! Plus, when that first order is delivered, your Woodpellets.com account will automatically be credited $25! So, if you’re happy with our service, our products and our convenient delivery…share the pellet love!
Due to a growing trend of pellet stove owners mixing and matching fuel orders to create a strategic burning strategy, we have created a new money-saving bundle – THE POWER PACK! This special 3-ton Cleanfire pack consists of 1 ton of Cleanfire Douglas Fir, and 2 tons of Cleanfire Pacific bundled together for a discounted price.
Why did we add the mix and match feature? Over the years, we have noticed a growing trend of burning pellets with a higher heat output during the coldest months of the heating season, and burning pellets with a lesser heat output (and a typically lower price tag) in the early season and late season months.
For years, there has been a growing shortage of qualified CDLA drivers, and it has only gotten worse over the past year. According to the American Trucking Association, thereâs a shortage of 51,000 truck drivers nationwide, up from 20,000 in 2013 and 36,500 in 2016 with a predicted increase to nearly 100,000 by 2021. As driver supply has dwindled, more trucking companies have turned to intermodal rail, which has even made these containers scarce.
