Even as true spring weather dawned across North America the sawmill operators had to actively hunt for customers.
Sales of solid wood construction framing materials remained slow despite home building season having arrived. The prevalent attitude was to “wait-and-see”, to discover if there was potential for lumber prices to drop further.
Lumber producers and wholesalers alike warned customers that continuing to keep such lean inventories could become a problem; should there be a sudden pop of sales prices could spike. However temporarily. Perhaps more important; delivery times could be much delayed as transportation has been quite a difficulty since the start of this year.
Regardless, the prevalent sense of caution among lumber buyers outweighed the potential danger of being caught short of inventory.
In the week ending May 2, 2025, the price of benchmark softwood lumber item Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2×4 #2&Btr KD (RL) was US$460 mfbm. This is down -$10, or -2%, from the previous week when it was $470, said weekly forest products industry price guide newsletter Madison’s Lumber Reporter.
That week’s price is down -$38, or -8%, from one month ago when it was $498.
Demand was slow for the time of year, commodity prices continued to slide in most categories. Spurts of sales were booked in some key markets, buyers remained cautious.
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KEY TAKE-AWAYS:
- Western S-P-F sawmills in the US worked to move accumulated inventory amid atypically sluggish demand.
- Overall consumption was still well below seasonal norms.
- Buyers were more cautious, unwilling to commit to long-term coverage.
- There was increasing pressure on suppliers to move stock at lower prices.
- Sales of Western S-P-F in Canada remained sloppy; as supply of most items was ample, sawmills were open to counter offers.
- Eastern S-P-F sawmills cleaned up much of their accumulated material, but commodity prices continued to erode.
- Purchasers held off wherever they didn’t need coverage, mills often fell short of their established daily sales allotments.
- Southern Yellow Pine price spreads between geographical zones continued to widen.
Madison’s Benchmark Top-Six Softwood Lumber and Panel Prices: Monthly Averages
