Even Christmas trees aren’t immune to the pandemic-induced shortages and inflation plaguing the economy. Extreme weather and supply chain disruptions have reduced supplies of both real and artificial trees this season.
Chris Courchaine carries a Christmas tree he bought at Crystal River Christmas Trees in Alameda, Calif. on Nov. 26, 2021. Even Christmas trees aren't immune to the pandemic-induced shortages and inflation plaguing the economy.
Extreme weather and supply chain disruptions have reduced supplies of both real and artificial trees this season. American shoppers should expect to have fewer choices and pay up to 30% more for both types this Christmas, industry officials say. ALAMEDA, Calif. — Even Christmas trees aren’t immune to the pandemic-induced shortages and inflation plaguing the economy. Extreme weather and supply chain disruptions have reduced supplies of both real and artificial trees this season. American shoppers should expect to have fewer choices and pay up to 30% more for both types this Christmas, industry officials said. “It’s a double whammy — weather and supply chain problems are really hampering the industry,” said Jami Warner, executive director of the American Christmas Tree Association, an industry trade group. “Growers have been hard hit by floods, fires, smoke, drought, extreme weather conditions.” Record-breaking heat and wildfires in late June took a heavy toll on Christmas tree farms in Oregon and Washington, two of the nation’s largest growers. Warner could not provide an estimate of how many fewer trees there will be this year but because it takes up to 10 years to grow, the crop loss will be felt for many seasons to come.The shortage of truck drivers is making it harder and more expensive to transport live trees from farms to stores and tree lots.At Crystal River Christmas Trees, owner Dale Pine and his nephew Stacy Valenzuela struggled to get enough trees to sell at their tree lot in Alameda. Many of its suppliers in Oregon lost trees in the triple-digit heat wave. “It was looking pretty grim for a while,” Valenzuela said. “Every single day you’re on the phone checking, ‘Hey, you got anything? If you do, send it my way.’ So a lot of work to get these trees on the ground this year.” Crystal River had to raise prices this year because the costs of trees, labor and truck delivery have all gone up, Valenzuela said. Alameda resident Ian Steplowski came to Crystal River lot to buy a Silvertip tree with his wife and two young kids the day after Thanksgiving. “We’re having shortages of everything and of course it had to take Christmas trees,” Steplowski said. “Definitely noticing everything’s a bit more expensive this year already.” Teri Schaffert heard about the shortage of real trees this year, so she decided to buy an artificial tree for the first time. Almost a week before Thanksgiving, she went to shop at the Burlington showroom of Balsam Hill, which primarily sells its artificial trees online. “I came in early because I heard in the news that there’s not going to be enough fresh Christmas trees,” said Schaffert, who lives in nearby San Mateo. Her husband isn’t happy about the change. “What else can we do? I have to get ready for the future because I love Christmas. I love to decorate.”But the artificial tree industry is struggling with its own supply troubles as clogged ports and the lack of truckers delay shipments and raise costs, said Caroline Tuan, Balsam Hill’s chief operating officer. The company’s trees are about 20% more expensive this year and there is less variety. “We have to bring our products over from our factories , and that has been very challenging,” Tuan said. “All of that has impacted us, which means that we have fewer trees to sell as an industry.” Worries about drought and drought led David Cruise and his wife to the Balsam Hill showroom to buy their first artificial tree this year. “In the grand scheme of climate change here in California, this is really the way to go,” said Cruise, who lives in Brentwood. “The sooner everybody gets on board with the artificial tree, the sooner everybody’s going to enjoy it.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Haugen urges lawmakers to avert impasse on social media laws | AP NewsWASHINGTON (AP) — Ex-Facebook employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen implored lawmakers Wednesday to avert the usual congressional stalemates as they weigh proposals to curb abuses on social media platforms by limiting the companies’ free-speech protections against legal liability.
Read more »
Tesla officially moves headquarters from California to Texas | AP NewsTesla says it has officially moved its corporate headquarters from Silicon Valley to a large factory under construction outside of Austin, Texas. CEO Elon Musk had said that the movie was coming at the company's annual meeting in October.
Read more »
A world ablaze, captured by AP photographers in 2021 | AP News“Some say the world will end in fire,” wrote the poet Robert Frost -- and for much of 2021, Associated Press photographers captured scenes of a world ablaze, amid rumblings of ruin. In New Delhi, a man sprints amid the funeral pyres of COVID-19 victims -- too many fires, too much heat, too many victims.
Read more »
Remarks by 9 justices indicate how they lean on abortion | AP NewsThe U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday on whether it should overturn a nationwide right to abortion. Here's some of what the justices said in response, and questions they asked. A ruling isn't expected before June.
Read more »
Rockin' around the Christmas tree: Rockefeller tree lit up | AP NewsNEW YORK (AP) — The holly, jolly, best time of the year got a light-filled launch on Wednesday, when the towering Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center was officially turned on. The 79-foot (24-meter) Norway spruce, covered with more than 50,000 lights in a rainbow of colors and bearing a crystal-covered, 900-pound (400-kilogram) star, was lit in a midtown Manhattan ceremony again open to the public, in contrast with last year's virus-impacted event .
Read more »
AP: US military explosives vanish, emerge in civilian world | AP NewsThe Marine Corps demolition specialist was worried — about America, and about the civil war he feared would follow the presidential election. And so, block by block, he stole 13 pounds (6 kilograms) of C4 plastic explosives from the training ranges of Camp Lejeune.
Read more »