WESTFIELD ­– The global shortage of lumber has left a dramatic impact on the housing and construction industries across the board, including local lumber suppliers.

Mike Breton, owner of Lumber Centre in Westfield, said that his business has felt the positive and negative impacts of the shortage, and he expects that it may continue for some time. He said that, by his observation, the pandemic is largely to blame for the lumber shortage.

“People that were living in the cities wanted to get out of the cities, so they went out into the suburbs,” said Breton.

He said the increased demand for lumber has caused a significant supply backlog, which in turn causes the price to rise. Basically, he said, it comes down to simple supply and demand economics.

According to Breton, 1.7 million permits were issued to build new homes in the last year, while the country’s lumber mills can only produce enough for 1.3 million permits. The shortage is not only of lumber, either. He explained that essentially, any type of construction supply is in a shortage right now.

Breton said the COVID-19 shutdowns of businesses that produce and process these supplies played a role, too, as normal production levels were reduced as a result. He said he was skeptical of claims that inflation has not also played a role in the situation. Trillions of dollars had been printed by the federal government in response to the pandemic over the last year, with a lot of that money going directly to citizens’ pocket.

“If you print trillions and trillions of dollars, it has got to reflect somewhere,” said Breton.

In general, Breton said the lumber situation has been good for his business simply due to an increased demand for the products he sells. He pointed to a pile of 80 pieces of lumber he had on the property.

In early 2020, those 80 pieces would have sold for approximately $1,200. Now, Breton estimates it costs about $3,000.

The uptick in the market has led to an increase in Breton’s day to day work and the work of his employees. He said he was able to hire two additional people at Lumber Centre to accommodate the increase in business.

“Could I use one more? Sure, but I’m not going to cry about it,” said Breton, “So the only adjustment is that we just have to concentrate on the business a hell of a lot more and spend a lot more time here.”

Breton made the case that housing is one of the backbones of the U.S. economy, considering how many goods and services are based around use in one’s home. By his estimate, he thinks the housing market and everything behind it will remain strong “for a minimum of three years.”

When COVID-19 was just beginning to pick up in the U.S., rumors of shutdowns began to spread, with some states beginning to do so before Massachusetts. Breton said that he intended to remain open, but realized that if the state shut down, he may not be able to buy wood, so he went out and bought a significant amount before it happened.

“Being ‘Mr. Conservative’ I only bought enough that I thought I would sell in a couple of months. Then when they shut down a lot of businesses, the floodgates opened up and you couldn’t even get a parking spot out there,” said Breton.

He said a lot of people used the money from their stimulus checks to do home improvement projects to pass the time and bring up the value of their home.

The Lumber Centre is located at 44 Broad St.