When it comes to home fencing, supply chain issues have an impact on not only the quantity of product available but the type of product that homeowners can buy.Metro Creative

Like just about everything else in this era of the COVID-19 pandemic, the residential fencing business has had its challenges.

On the plus side, the pandemic has prompted some homeowners to forgo vacation travel and put money into home improvement projects: one of which is installing that first fence or upgrading to a new one. That means more orders for local dealers and installers as well as a call for more product from the manufacturers themselves.

But the pandemic also has had its drawbacks. In some case, it's been difficult for companies to find workers.

But the bigger issue has been obtaining the product, said Chad Galbreath, president of Penn Fencing in Penn Township.

Galbreath said his company has a solid supply, but it hasn't been easy, given all that's going on. And the recent bad weather, in the form of Hurricane Ida, hasn't helped, either. A loss of power to plants in the south that manufacture fencing and fencing components can have a negative trickle-down effect to dealers and installers hundreds of miles away, Galbreath said.

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Even though vinyl fencing is still more expensive than wood, the gap has narrowed, and the fact that vinyl doesn’t require much in the way of upkeep compared with wood has convinced many homeowners to move away from wood.Metro Creative