Hide offers were limited from sellers at mid-week, but the hides that were offered were higher than the last traded levels. Buyers have bid steady to lower prices for popular shoe hide selections. Limited trading has occurred at this point in the week.

Supply chain issues have contributed to higher prices and slowed the pace of home starts and furniture sales. April Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) reported that home starts dropped to 1.6 million new units, down 9 percent March’s all-time high. Furniture sales decreased along with home starts, sales were down 5 percent to $11.9 billion. Inflated costs contributed to the decline in home starts with lumber futures drastically increasing throughout the month-reaching a record $1,711.20 per thousand board feet at the start of May. A similar escalation in prices have affected other goods as well. May retail sales indicated consumers shifted spending to services rather than goods. The Commerce Department reported a decrease of…