NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Artificial tree prices have skyrocketed due to supply chain woes.
If you're in the supply chain and freight business, it’s been a wild 18 months. "You have China churning out cargo 24/7... but then you have labor shortages," said Landon Scott said with V. Alexander, a global supply chain management company.
For example, right now Christmas trees are caught up in the supply chain bottleneck. "The consumer is going to have a threshold for how much they’re willing to spend on an artificial tree. Unfortunately, the companies who are importing those artificial trees, are having to pay much higher rates than they were last year," Scott said.
That is why Christmas tree prices have gone up about 20% at Balsam Hill. Michael Shaughnessy with Balsam Hill said the company won't have as robust of a supply this year.
"But over the long term, an artificial Christmas tree will provide a long term value, so a higher-priced tree right now, is probably still a good investment," Shaughnessy said. "Even natural trees are having trouble this year due to fires and trucking, so across the entire retail spectrum there are shortages, and certainly if a customer wants something, they may not be available tomorrow if it’s available today."
The best advice, if you see it, buy it immediately. "The Grinch is probably waiting outside the door," Shaughnessy said. "I think encouraging people to get out there to buy early, and to be a little bit more open to different choices than you may have had in the past."
Wildfires impacted Christmas tree farms out west. However, the owners of several Michigan tree farms are confident their trees will make it into Tennessee homes on time.
