2022 Report

The Christmas tree shortage in the USA still exists, but it is finally beginning to show improvement in the Pacific Northwest. North Carolina Fraser Fir, however, are still in very short supply. To compensate we will be bringing in more Noble Fir and Nordmann Fir from Oregon, and more Cook Fir from Canada. We don’t expect the retail market to run out of trees early this year.

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Christmas Trees are in Tight Supply

 

Due to a number of factors, there is still a very tight supply of Christmas Trees this year. This is happening nationwide for a few reasons. 

 

Why are there so few Christmas Trees?

 

It takes an average of 7 years for a 5-6 foot Christmas Tree to grow. Because of this, farmers have to estimate what the demand will be 7+ years from now. During the recession of 2008, there was a decrease in demand for trees, and thus, a surplus. This led farmers to plant fewer trees during this time period and in the years following. 

 

Now that the economy has recovered, the demand for Christmas trees is back up, higher than ever. Unfortunately, the supply is now tight.

 

Other factors:

• Older generations of farmers are retiring and there is less interest from the younger generation to take over the business. 

• There was a shortage of seedlings, resulting in fewer being planted in the ground.

• Some farmers have sold off all their trees in order to sell their land to developers. 

 

Price increase - No price increases in 2022!

 

Due to the supply problem, shipping costs, and inflation, prices have inevitably increased over the past few years. Although our costs have risen again this year, we will not be increasing our prices for the 2022 season. For more information see our Christmas Tree pricing page.

 

When will this be solved?

 

We do not know when the demand issue will be resolved. We foresee the problem continuing for at least a few more years. This shortage has been difficult for both consumers and businesses like Tree Towne, and we want you to know that we are pricing our trees as fairly as possible despite the current market. 

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Past Reports

2021 Report

The Christmas Tree shortage in the USA still exists, so we will be bringing in a record number of Cook Fir and Balsam Fir trees from Canada this year. Additionally, we do not expect to have Nordmann Fir due to an extensive heatwave in the Pacific Northwest this past summer, which caused extensive damage to the trees.

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2020 Report

Tree Towne sold out this year in 2020 on December 10th, the earliest by far we have ever sold out! Why did this happen? Well, the pandemic created a demand for Christmas Trees that our country has never experienced. We saw many new customers and many old customers coming earlier in the season. More people wanted trees this year because they are not traveling for Christmas and they are spending more time at home. All this, coupled with the tree shortage we were already experiencing throughout North America, means there are just no trees left. Tree Towne is not the only one to sell out early. Tree stands around the country and even in Canada sold out as early as the week of Thanksgiving. If you were unable to get a tree this year, we are very sorry. Please do come earlier in the season next year, as we expect the shortage to continue, even if the pandemic has ended. 

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You can read more about the shortage in the news:

Nationwide Christmas tree shortage meets increased demand in pandemic

First, it was toilet paper, then yeast. COVID-19’s next big shortage? Christmas trees

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