Supply chain independence should start with homebuilding

In recent years, Americans have borne the economic brunt of global supply chain instability. During the pandemic, the supply of essential goods was uncertain as prices skyrocketed; tariffs and associated ambiguity have more recently forced supply chains to adapt; and leverage over supply chains has frequently been wielded as a weapon of war, as in Russia’s energy war against Europe, Iran’s Hormuz pressure campaign, and Taiwan’s “silicon shield” against a potential invasion. Enhancing American supply chain independence, particularly for goods needed by critical industries, is therefore an economic imperative—and must be treated as such by leaders across sectors. Some supply chains—such as those involved in the production of semiconductors—are profoundly complex and therefore less prone to straightforward solutions for enhancing resiliency. Yet for certain critical industries that touch the lives of nearly every American, such as homebuilding, the path to more resilient supply chains is much clearer. It simply requires rethinking certain fundamental assumptions about what we build with. LUMBER: AMERICA’S BIGGEST BUILDING BOTTLENECK Plywood and OSB, both heavily dependent on the lumb…