[Maricela De La Cruz]
Weeks before Christmas tree shopping kicks in, artificial tree suppliers are facing reduced supply of artificial Christmas trees.
“While we have quite a bit of stock, we’re unsure of when we’ll get the next batch of stock,” says Michael Shaughnessy, senior vice president of Balsam Hill, an artificial Christmas tree maker based in Northern California.
With a reduced supply nationwide, customers will be paying more. That’s because retailers are passing some of the increased costs that they’re paying to get freight to their stores, to the consumers.
“The price increase has been drastic. In fact, this year, we’ve experienced between four and 10 times the cost to get a container from overseas to our warehouses,” Shaughnessy said.
Watch Video: https://www.kcra.com/article/artificial-christmas-tree-supply-reduction-could-affect-norcal-tree-growers/38152887#.