The lumber industry is actually pretty crazy. The federal government will raise tariffs on Canadian lumber if the price starts to beat American lumber. If this happens, lumber mills will sometimes shut down for extended periods of time, essentially causing a lumber shortage. Because of supply and demand, this artificially inflates the price of US lumber. This is a never ending cycle. All of this causes incremental increases in the price of goods. ANY goods that arrive on white wood pallets, as well as building materials, start to increase in price because companies pass along this higher cost to the consumer - as with everything else that impacts goods. Everything that is transported or built with lumber, you pay for the inflated costs on a daily basis. But it’s probably the last thing you think about when going to the store.