Please find below the results of Madison’s most recent investigation into questions regarding a possible difference between North American softwood lumber prices into USA and those domestically within Canada, in view of the latest US softwood lumber duty, submitted to federal government of Canada (September 30, 2019):
Download Full Report: Canada Domestic Softwood Lumber Price 2019 SEPT
OVERVIEW OF CURRENT NORTH AMERICAN LUMBER MARKET: 3Q 2019
The question at hand:
• is there apparently a price difference between Canadian sales to domestic markets and sales to US export markets.
THE SHORT UPDATE to the basic question is: unchanged from our previous report. Numbers in accompanying file. Further details below.
The data for Canadian softwood lumber production, sales, and exports, as well as US lumber imports, for to-date 2019 compared to last year, bears out the inexorable dropping of North America softwood lumber prices for the past year.
Indeed, in recent weeks the price of benchmark construction framing dimension softwood lumber item Western SPF KD 2×4 #2&Btr “kissed” prices for the exact same week in 2018. Please see graph below.
North America Benchmark Construction Framing Softwood Lumber Prices: Oct ‘17 to Sept ‘19 :
Given the surely-but-steadily improving US home building market, Canada’s lumber producers currently have a hopeful eye to early January 2020 for more upwardly-mobile lumber prices.
Keta Kosman
Publisher
Madison’s Lumber Reporter, est. 1952
PO Box 2486, Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 3W7 Canada
Tel: 604-319-2266
e-mail: madrep at shawcable.com