Good Construction Weather Props Up Lumber Prices Slightly
Into the latter weeks of October, mild weather in many of the densely-populated areas of the US provided the opportunity for an increase in construction activity. As such, demand for dimension lumber and other solid wood building materials brought a bump up in lumber prices, due to limited supply in the field. Sawmills and wholesalers both had been keeping inventories low in expectation of true winter and the end of most housing construction until spring re-appears. As well, an ongoing work-stoppage at Weyerhaueser’s production facilities in the US northwest impacted supply of west coast species, most notably Douglas fir. As a result, those prices jumped by a larger degree than other lumber commodities.
Reversing a few weeks of drops, in the week ending October 21, 2022, the price of benchmark softwood lumber item Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2x4 #2&Btr KD (RL) was US$480 mfbm, said weekly forest products industry price guide newsletter Madison’s Lumber Reporter.
This is up by +$35, or +8% from the previous week when it was $445, and is down by -$44, or -8%, from one month ago when it was $524.