Business just seems to be getting harder at the moment.  In addition to a shocking industrial downturn our latest blight is the exchange rate.  Over the years we have gotten used to calm and stability where the pound sterling is concerned.  When movements have come they have been relatively gentle and manageable. 

Not now they ain’t!  Over the past few weeks we have watched the pound yoyo, not just against the headline grabbing American dollar, but against a host of other timber trading currencies as well.  Over a few weeks the fluctuations have been greater than some of our bulk trading margins.  It's a nightmare for a stock carrying importer, with prices having to be adjusted literally daily.

For slow moving stocks like hardwoods the maths becomes impossible with new stock bought when the pound was down being mixed with old stock bought spending higher value pounds.  When the variation pings by 20% what does one do?  Today we decided to just give up being scientific about it and just price as competitively as we can for the current market – not the most profitable way to run a business perhaps but better for our customers and less of a headache for us.

Customers are calling me up asking me what I think of the current situation.  Not good I suppose, but hey, we are still here.  I don't like to complain because on the whole I have been dealt good cards.  Times like this are a challenge to all of us and with a bit of luck, and a surge of hard work, one just has to fathom out the new rules for the trade and apply them as best as one can.  Not for the faint hearted.