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Softwood Lumber Prices June & US Housing Starts May: 2020
The USA purchases approximately 65% of Canadian lumber production mostly for construction framing, while Canadian buyers account for about 10%, and those in Japan take 6%.However: US and Canadian customers purchase mostly standard grades (#2&Btr), while Japan buys almost exclusively premium or “appearance” grades (J-grade) which sells for quite a bit more than standard grade…
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Softwood Lumber Prices Stabilize Even as Inventories Remain Weak
After a wild ride down then up over the past few months, most standard construction framing dimension softwood lumber prices stabilized last week, to levels both producers and customers are comfortable with. Inventories remain spotty as sawmill production is still constrained and buyers continue to look for highly specified loads only.Purveyors of Western Spruce-Pine-Fir commodities…
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Softwood Lumber Prices June 2020 & US Housing Market: 1Q 2020
According to the US Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) most recent House Price Index (HPI), released May 25, US house prices rose in 1Q 2020, up +1.7% from 1Q 2019 and up +5.7% from one year ago.Elsewhere, according to the CoreLogic Home Price Index Report, delivered June 9, national home prices saw a year-over-year increase…
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Softwood Lumber Prices Finish Reversing Direction After Firm Uplift
Sales of Western-Spruce-Pine-Fir construction framing dimension softwood lumber in the United States took a step back last week as civil unrest around the country led to most buyers taking a circumspect approach, by sitting on whatever inventory they had. Construction in the Western portion of the US continued to ramp up, albeit more slowly, as…
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Wood Panel Prices Will Provide Indication of Remaining Summer Lumber Demand
When times are uncertain there is one sure thing to provide insight into particulars; panel prices. Whether it be storms, fires, or otherwise, among the most-needed items in society is plywood. Given the current situation in many regions of the US, it is assured that demand for plywood and other panel sheathing is going to…
