Until Tuesday all eyes were on trading of softwood lumber futures on the Chicago Merchantile Exchange. The July contract closed Monday unchanged at $360. By Tuesday morning the September contract down $12 and trading at $336, with little optimism of the recent price drops reversing direction. For it’s part, cash price (wholesaler, “print”) for benchmark construction framing dimension softwood lumber commodity Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2×4 (net FOB sawmill) was down $10 on the previous week, at US$392 mfbm. At producers, sawmill…

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MADISON’S FOREST PULSE *Brand New Re-Design* July 2019: The information tool for your forest management and investment Our quarterly product is tailored to provide you with vital information about the North American solid wood, pulp, and paper industry at your fingertips in a timely manner. CLICK TO DOWNLOAD! MadisonsForestPulse2Q2019 FOREST PULSE TESTIMONIAL: Michael Low | Director & Group Lead, Commercial Banking | Scotiabank www.scotiabank.com : “I am amazed at the data you’ve been able to collect in this report and…

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US Construction Job Openings Fall Back in May  Data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) indicate that US construction job openings declined in May off a cycle high count in April, according to the US National Association of Home Builders Tuesday.The estimated number of job openings in the construction sector fell back to 369,000 after reaching a post-Great Recession high of 434,000 in April. The decline occurred with a somewhat elevated level of layoffs in the sector. The…

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The latest issue of the Western Wood Products Association’s monthly Lumber Track, for January-April 2019, shows a +0.9% increase in US softwood lumber production volume, to 11,718 mmfbm. Last month it was +0.4%.January – April softwood lumber production in Canada continued dropping, this time by another -8.8%, to 8,588 mmfbm, compared to the first four months of 2018 when it was 9,421 mmfbm. Last month it was -8.6%.In British Columbia, significant sawmill curtailments brought another huge drop in production volumes,…

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Compared to the wild highs of one year ago, lumber prices this week can be described as “moderate”. For this exact week in 2018, the price of benchmark North American construction framing dimension softwood lumber commodity Western Spruce-Pine-Fir KD 2×4 #2&Btr flatlined for several weeks at an astonishing US$622 mfbm. Since then this price has headed mostly downward, fluctuating somewhat earlier in the year as it struggled to find the floor. This week that price level seems to be matching…

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This week’s price of benchmark WSPF 2×4 (wholesaler, net FOB sawmill/hub) is flat at US$402 mfbm compared to the previous week. This is +$96, or +31%, more than it was one month ago when it was US$306 mfbm. #sawmill #building #construction #wood #housing Madison’s Lumber Prices @LumberNews 1h #Lumber Prices Moderate Summer 2019 Day-to-day sales volumes remained solid last week but prices levelled off as players throughout the supply chain waited for lumber to move through the system. — Madison’s…

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Nationally in the US, home price appreciation continued to slow in April. The Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, reported by S&P Dow Jones Indices Wednesday, rose at a seasonally adjusted annual growth rate of +3.4% in April, following an increase of +3.1% in March. On a year-over-year basis, the Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index rose by +3.5% in April, down from +3.7% in March. It was the lowest annual gain since September 2012. The annual US house price growth…

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The sheer plummet, then flat-line, of North American construction framing softwood lumber prices for most of this year continued last week the massive reversal of the previous week. Wholesaler prices of benchmark dimension softwood lumber commodity Western Spruce-Pine-Fir KD 2×4 #2&Btr (RL) (net FOB sawmill) last week corrected up somewhat further. The ability of Eastern Spruce-Pine-Fir suppliers to raise their prices significantly confirms the upward price movement of lumber commodities in the past two weeks.Confusion reigns still, however Tuesday lumber…

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Boosted by lower mortgage rates, existing home sales, released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), rebounded in May. This is the first gain in two months. Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, climbed 2.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.34 million in May. On a year-over-year basis, sales were 1.1% lower than a year ago. Sales have declined on an annualized basis for more than a year. The first-time buyer share remained unchanged…

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