In advance of the Remembrance Day holiday in Canada, this year a Monday so an actual long weekend, it seemed a form of supply-demand balance was reached for lumber.
While benchmark Western S-P-F 2×4 prices continued to climb, Southern Yellow Pine 2x4s actually dropped. It is important to note that the run-up for SYP sales, following Hurricane Helene, may have slightly inflated prices beyond what the market could bear. So this latest drop could simply be a correction down to nominal.
Overall, the recent rise in demand as customers with no inventory of their own had to buy for immediate fill-in needs seems to have slowed. Which is indeed seasonally normal
for the time of year. The real test of where will lumber prices land for the end of the year is the week following US Thanksgiving.
In the week ending November 8, 2024, the price of Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2×4 #2&Btr KD (RL) was US$444 mfbm, which up +$16, or +4%, from the previous week when it was $428, said weekly forest products industry price guide newsletter Madison’s Lumber Reporter. That week’s price is up +$41, or +10%, from one month ago when it was $403.
There were solid sales volumes following the US presidential election. Panel prices continued to surge, particularly for plywood.
KEY TAKE-AWAYS:
- Plenty of takeaway shored up depleted inventories so stalled construction projects could be covered.
- Producers established order files in the three- to four-week range.
- Overall takeaway was more than sufficient to keep ahead of limited supply.
- Open market availability was limited again by the contractual commitments producers had in place.
- SYP producers showed resistance to steeper counteroffers from buyers.
- Eastern stocking wholesalers improving their positions markedly, if they had on-ground material.
Madison’s Benchmark Top-Six Softwood Lumber and Panel Prices: Monthly Averages
