Author: kkosman

Seemingly non-stop ordering boosted Canadian and US construction framing softwood lumber prices last week as manufacturers kept production levels high to stay on pace with demand. Order files at sawmills grew to three weeks or more, thus the most popular items were “off-the-market” because producers refused to quote prices more than three weeks out. Of…

House-for-sale inventory in the US increased in 4Q 2018, and metro market prices rose at a slower pace, according to the latest quarterly report by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), released Tuesday. The national median existing single-family home price in the quarter was US$257,600, up +4% from 4Q 2017 when it was US$247,800. Single-family…

The spectacular rebound of North American construction framing dimension softwood lumber prices in the first week of February continued last week as prices rose yet further in response to transportation problems, mostly on the Canadian railways. Severe weather hit many parts of Canada and the US, causing delays of shipments from softwood lumber suppliers. Customers,…

Lumber prices have made quite a comeback this year, climbing by +25% in January and nearly erasing the decline suffered in 2018, as the market gets a boost in demand ahead of the spring building season, said Barron’s Friday. Looking ahead, however, analysts urge caution. The lumber market looks overbought and shares some similarities with…

Conifex Timber, out of Vancouver, BC, announced February 4 that it is temporarily curtailing sawmill operations at its Fort St. James, British Columbia, sawmill for three weeks, said the Vanderhoof Omineca Express. Volatile lumber prices have forced Fort St. James sawmill to curtail its operations. A total of 150 production employees have been impacted by…