Cord prices ... wow

[gyrfalcon]

These prices are crazy. Here in upstate NY I am paying $60-$70 a face cord cut and split. we have lots of trees here and I am sure the cost of living is less but that is a big diference in prices.

Face cord is much smaller, about a third of a full cord, which is what we're talking about. If you're paying 60-70 for a face cord, that's about the same or more than I'm paying for a full at 180.

 

[tradergordo]

Prices are definitely going up for next year. Home heating oil just hit a new all time high at $3.60/gallon wholesale (compared to an average of $2.60 last year - and remember how many people got squeezed then). Natural gas prices are also significantly higher. If current prices hold (I actually think they will go down) next winter is going to be a real "duzzie". Still not sure how many people will flock to stoves like they did during the oil crunch of the 70's - you didn't see any of that this winter, but maybe people are finally approaching a breaking point. Consumer debt to income ratios is at an extreme. Credit card debt near extremes. Home prices declining nationwide for the first time since the great depression, people can no longer tap that equity... one more really cold winter could be the straw that brakes the camels back for a lot of people. But since you don't save any money heating with wood in the first year or two (after all expenses) I don't really see wood burning as a "go to solution" for a cash strapped American. Then again, it would be perfectly expected that a big industry name like Vermont Castings goes bankrupt at the very bottom of the market, just before it kicks into high gear.