The North American construction framing dimension softwood lumber market has found even footing at this mid-summer 2022. Prices on almost all lumber and panel items remained flat, with some benchmark commodities rising slightly. A big change coming to how lumber futures are traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange has many players excited; details of those changes below.
The recent increase to timber stumpage prices in British Columbia has put some operators in a not-profitable position — in the context of current lumber prices — so several facilities in that province are taking additional or extended downtime and curtailments.
Bumping further upward slightly, for the week ending July 22, 2022 the price of benchmark softwood lumber item Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2x4 #2&Btr KD (RL) was US$684 mfbm, said weekly forest products industry price guide newsletter Madison’s Lumber Reporter. This is up by +$20, or +3% from the previous week when it was $664, and is up by +$59, or +25%, from one month ago when it was $625.
Lumber futures trading after August 8th will be under the ticker LBR with the following changes:
a smaller contract size of a truckload rather than the current rail carload;
delivery to Chicago rather than Western Canada;
and, the inclusion of both Western and Eastern S-P-F in contract calculations.
Yes is had an effect right away, propping prices up at the beginning of July.
This week they are dropping back down again :-/ But that’s normal for this time of year!
Great question! So the hardwoods markets are completely different … softwood lumber is used for construction framing, while hardwoods are used for finishing. And many things not related to housing (like furniture, cabinets, etc).
Also hardwood, both timber harvest and production, are very regional. So there is not a North America-wide price like there is for softwood.
I would not expect changes to softwood lumber to affect hardwood. There are totally separate dynamics.
