Dealing with Shortages

Dealing with Shortages:

At some point in the last 2 years, you surely ran into issues with something that used to be readily acquirable. With Covid-19 shutting down production during initial shutdowns and as quarantines pop up, coupling with multiple supply chain issues, it seems like production is just getting further behind. Some shortages are short-lived and others much longer-lasting. Storages seem to have spread to every corner of industry, and the landscaping industry is unfortunately not immune. What shortages could you be faced with, and what’s the best way to work around them?

Pavers were subject to much longer than usual lead times this year.

Irrigation and Landscape supplies

We’ve seen shortages in irrigation supplies and landscape materials pop up. Thankfully these have been pretty short-lived, and we have been able to stay ahead without much interruption. Planning ahead and having good suppliers helps! While the shortages are not creating a great interruption to the flow of work. It has driven the cost of some of these materials by a good margin, if you are coming into a project with a basis of comparison from before 2020, be aware that the cost jump may be more than you expected.

With good planning, we were fortunate to be able to complete a few deck projects this year.

Lumber

Be it decks, pergolas, arbors, trellises, or fencing, lumber proved to be a major issue. At times, we were forced to projects on hold waiting for lumber. While the lumber market seems to be in better shape, prices are still elevated. Planning and ordering ahead is key, and care needs to be taken to insure lumber is protected from weathering while being stored.

Any special order requiring shipping needed to be ordered well in advance.

Special order items

Anything that needs to be shipped in is just taking longer to get here. Items such as special-order fountains and water features, pavers, manufactured stone, and artificial turf. When planning a project including these items, you are easily looking at more than a month of lead time. Planning ahead is crucial.

Plants

Plants were among the biggest challenges in 2021. Last year, Evergreen trees in particular were tough to find. Past droughts, coupled with rising demand due to continuously rising new and renovation construction work left us without the evergreens we were used to. As many HOAs had required 8’ evergreens for planting, that size was the first to go. The key with plant materials is flexibility. We may not be able to find the exact cultivar and size you’d like, but with a little flexibility, we can find something that will fit your needs and taste, the space, and be hardy for the location.