Lumber futures leap to their highest in more than three weeks as severe flooding in British Columbia - which produces 14% of North America’s lumber - blocks roads and rail tracks, preventing home builders from starting to accumulate the materials they will need in the peak spring season.
January lumber (LB1:COM) on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange surged by the exchange maximum $45, or +6.3%, to $757 per 1,000 board feet, the best level since October 25.
Affected lumber companies finished higher in today’s trading: RFP +7.9%, OTCPK:WFSTF +3.7%, LPX +2.3%, WFG +1.8%.
Other potentially relevant tickers include WY, PCH, OTCPK:IFSPF, OTCPK:CFPZF
“The mills are feeding into this and using it to firm up pricing, catching traders and forcing them to chase prices higher,” Greg Kuta, chief executive officer of Westline Capital Strategies, tells Bloomberg.
Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway said their rail network in interior British Columbia has been out of service since Sunday.