Following the absolute plummet this summer after unsustainable highs in spring, lumber prices have been recovering during September and October, said weekly softwood lumber and panel price guide Madison’s Lumber Reporter. In the week ending October 29, most construction framing dimension lumber prices flattened out, to finish the week at close to the levels of…

ORIENTED STRAND BOARD (OSB) In the week ending November 05, 2021, the price of OSB Canadian – 7/16 – Ontario was C$550 msf. This is down by -$20, or (-4%), from the previous week when it was $570.That week’s price is down by -$16, or (-3%), from one month ago when it was $566.When compared…

Sales of new US single-family homes rocketed up by an astonishing +14%, while the median price of newly built houses increased by even more, compared to the previous month. There were 800,000 new US homes sold in September, which is up +14% from a significantly downwardly-corrected 702,000 in August, and is down -18% from 971,000…

Once again for a very unusual time of year, softwood lumber prices firmed up yet more in late October. Sales volumes were encouraging, especially for the time of year, as sawmills extended order files out four weeks. Based on the regular historical seasonal cycle, it is not normal for lumber prices to be increasing in…

North America softwood lumber production volumes and sawmill capacity utilization rates released by Western Wood Products Association (www.wwpa.org) show: For January to July 2021 softwood lumber production in the US was up by another +3% from the first seven months of 2020. US lumber production volumes were 22,060 mmfbm. Looking at the month of July…

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported October 16 US and Canadian rail traffic volumes for the week ending October 16, 2021. US railroads originated 1,970,839 combined carloads and intermodal units, up another +3.8%, or 71,419 combined, from one year ago. US railroads originated 229,730 carloads and 267,253 intermodal units for the week ending October…

The U.S. Census Bureau and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development released October 26 new home sales and house price data for September 2021. New home sales comprise 10% of real estate activity and are considered a leading housing market indicator as they are recorded when contracts are signed. After slowing down in…

The U.S. Census Bureau and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development released October 26 new home sales and house price data for September 2021. New home sales comprise 10% of real estate activity and are considered a leading housing market indicator as they are recorded when contracts are signed. Bumping up and down…

Buyers of Western S-P-F in the United States continued to run up against palpably limited availability. Showing surprising strength in ongoing increases when usually lumber prices are dropping, in the week ending October 22, 2021, the price of Western S-P-F 2×4 #2&Btr KD (RL) was US$630 mfbm, which is up by a remarkable +$35, or…

As explained by Madison’s Lumber Reporter many times in the past, as far as the seasonal cycle of lumber sales — thus prices — goes, normally after the Labour Day long weekend demand starts to drop and by US Thanksgiving demand reaches the annual low. This didn’t happen last year, and has not been happening…

Bumping up and down for the past few months, US total housing starts for September 2021 dropped by -1.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.555 million. Continuing to make year-over-year gains, for September 2021 total residential starts in the US rose by +7.4% from the same month one year ago, when it was…

Similar to this time last year, when lumber prices started rising to reach what was then the all-time historical high, solid wood construction materials prices have been ticking up in the past few weeks. This is traditionally not a time for lumber prices to be increasing. The latest US housing starts and home sales and…

US total housing starts for August 2021 increased by +4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.615 million. For August 2021, total residential starts in the US shot up by +12.3% from the same month one year ago, when it was 1.416 million. Improving further over gains throughout this year, permits for future homebuilding…

Similar to this time last year, when lumber prices started rising to reach what was then the all-time historical high, solid wood construction materials prices have been ticking up in the past few weeks. This is traditionally not a time for lumber prices to be increasing. The latest US housing starts and home sales and…

After dropping all summer, lumber prices started coming back up a little bit around Labour Day: For the week of September 24, 2021 the price of benchmark softwood lumber item Western S-P-F 2×4 #2&Btr KD (RL) rose to US$510 mfbm, a +$30, or +6%, increase from the previous week when it was $480. That week’s…