Lumber Shortages Threaten to Derail Australia’s Home Building Boom

Australia is facing a lumber shortage, similar to the one that negatively impacted home building in North American earlier this year. According to a report from the Master Builders Australia and Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA), the Land Down Under could be facing a deficit of 250,000 wooden house frame packages over the next 15 years if efforts are not made to plant more trees.

In their report, the two organizations noted that the shortage threatens to push up costs and slow projects for the country’s A$212 billion ($154 billion USD) construction industry, as well as stall progress toward expanding the nation’s housing supply. Increasing imports, which typically account for around a quarter of Australia’s timber construction needs, are likely to be difficult as other countries are grappling with similar scarcities.

In a statement prepared to accompany the report, Master Builders Australia Chief Executive Officer Denita Wawn said, this is “a wake-up call for decision-makers to act now to avoid a construction industry crisis in the next decade. We cannot rely on imports to fill the gap when we have increased construction activity — we need to act now.”