Please find below the results of Madison’s Lumber Reporter‘s investigation into questions regarding a possible difference between North American softwood lumber prices into USA and those domestically within Canada, in view of the latest US softwood lumber duty. OVERVIEW OF CURRENT NORTH AMERICAN LUMBER MARKET: 1Q 2019 The question at hand: · is there apparently…

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…

The housing market represents about 15 percent to 18 percent of US GDP, said Lindsey Bell, Investment Strategist at CFRA, citing figures from the National Association of Home Builders.

Madison’s Lumber Reporter has partnered with Canadian Forest Industries magazine. Our weekly North America lumber and panel price update will be featured on their website every Tuesday:https://www.woodbusiness.ca/softwood-lumber-prices-rebound-as-construction-material-buying-season-gets-going/

Immediately at the beginning of January, wholesaler prices of benchmark lumber commodity Western Spruce-Pine-Fir KD 2×4 #2&Btr started rising off full-year 2018 lows, finishing last week at US$404 mfbm, a $58 or +14.4% increase from $346 the week before. At close Monday, lumber futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange were US$423, a historically-appropriate $25 premium…

See for yourself the amazing correlation between select US home building and sales data when compared to Canadian and US lumber prices over the past ten years. Below are various graphs comparing this very important data 2007 to present. The numbers don’t lie; the data speaks for itself.

Sales of new homes in the United States soared in November, defying higher mortgage rates. The US Commerce Department said Thursday that new-home sales jumped +17% in November from the previous month. The November 2018 figure remained -7.7% below the November 2017 rate.

Contracts to buy previously owned homes in the US fell in December, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said Wednesday, in another sign of weakness in the housing market.The NAR’s pending home sales index decreased to a reading of 99.0, down -2.2% from the prior month. November’s index was revised to 101.2 from 101.4.US existing…

In November, national home prices in the US rose at the same annual growth rate as in October. Two metro areas in California, including San Francisco and San Diego, as well as Seattle, WA, experienced home price declines in November, while home prices in Los Angeles, CA, were unchanged. The Case-Shiller US National Home Price…

Home sales in the US slumped in December 2018, while prices inched up slightly, marking the smallest annual increase since the end of the last housing crash in 2012, according to data from brokerage Redfin Tuesday, said Bloomberg.The median home price rose to US$289,800 in December, a gain of +1.2%, the slowest monthly pace since…

For the other large volume-traded softwood lumber commodity, this week’s Southern Yellow Pine East Side 2×4 #2&Btr KD prices are down $126 (-24.85%) relative to the 1-year rolling average price of US$507 and down $99 (-20.63%) relative to the 2-year rolling average price of US$480 mfbm Canadian and US construction framing dimension softwood lumber wholesaler…