Business

Oh, Christmas tree, not you, too: Supply chain problems come to the fir trade

As families head into Black Friday, Christmas trees will be pricier and in shorter supply

By Laura Reiley
Yesterday at 6:00 a.m. EST

Not even Christmas trees could escape the economic pandemonium of 2021. ... Rerouted Fraser firs, fried Oregon pines, artificial trees caught in broken supply chains, and sky-high transportation costs have contorted the seasonal arbor trade like an oversized tree scrunched under a low ceiling. The situation has importers, growers, sellers and buyers even more frazzled amid Black Friday, when Christmas tree shopping begins in earnest.

Now many families are unsure whether they will spend the holiday gathered around a majestic tower of greenery or something more reminiscent of Charlie Brown’s sad spectacle.

“Christmas is not canceled, everyone will be able to find a Christmas tree,” said Jami Warner, executive director of the American Christmas Tree Association, a trade group representing the artificial tree industry. ... Exactly what kind of tree will await people, though, is less clear. The supply chain Grinch may still gum up the works.

A plywood sign at Hayfield Secondary School in Alexandria, Va., reads, “Due to a shortage of good Fraser fir trees, the boosters will not be having the annual tree sale this year.” And for National Tree Co., a leading importer of artificial trees, manufacturing time has roughly doubled since before the pandemic, and delivery from Southern China through the Panama Canal and to New York has increased from three weeks to eight.

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By Laura Reiley
Laura Reiley is the business of food reporter. She was previously a food critic at the Tampa Bay Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Baltimore Sun. She has authored four books, has cooked professionally and is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy. She is a two-time James Beard finalist and in 2017 was a Pulitzer finalist. Twitter https://twitter.com/lreiley