MADISON’S SOFTWOOD LUMBER MARKET WEEKLY COMMENT:
Key comment: “As snow piled deep across the continent the lumber market remained sneaky strong.”
Prices reflect week of February 22, 2021 (CLICK TABLE TO ENLARGE)

Weekly North America #Softwood #Lumber Benchmark Prices
All prices are net FOB mill in U.S. dollars per 1,000 board feet unless otherwise noted. * denotes Canadian dollars per 1,000 square feet Green = not dried KD = kiln dried PET = precision end trim R/L = random lengths SPF = Spruce-Pine-Fir Std&Btr = standard & better (a grade)
SOFTWOOD LUMBER INDUSTRY MARKET PRICES, NEWS AND INFORMATION
The CFI Podcast: an in-depth look at the 2021 North American lumber market
According to Madison’s Lumber Reporter, we can expect to see strong lumber prices and demand for up to two years. This is not just because the pandemic sparked a boom in the repair and remodelling market, but also because, in 2020, millennials made up the largest cohort of first-time buyers for the first time. In […]
Madison’s Heating Wood Pellets report: Feb 2021
Drax Group to Acquire Pinnacle Renewable Energy On February 8th, 2020, Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc. announced that the company has entered into an arrangement agreement with Drax Group plc and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Drax Canadian Holdings Inc. will acquire all issued and outstanding common shares of Pinnacle in an all-cash transaction valued at C$831 million. […]
Madison’s British Columbia Coast Log Prices: Feb 2021
In an effort to make timber prices more responsive to market conditions, the latest changes to BC Timber Sales stumpage rates has that calculation based on recent lumber prices. As these changes start to take hold, the relationship between softwood lumber prices and log prices will become even more apparent. Madison’s Monthly Lumber and Forestry […]
2021 North America Softwood Lumber Market Outlook
If there was ever an incomprehensible year for forestry and sawmilling, it was 2020. Macroeconomic conditions in Canada and the U.S. weren’t any easier to decipher. However, one sector that clearly did well was housing: home building and selling activity across the continent revved up to white-hot levels. Indeed, according to the latest U.S. employment […]
Canadian Bioheat Database Update: 2017 – 2020
Wood pellets and wood chips are the dominant fuels, with preference regionally specific. The September 2017 issue of the Madison’s Heating Wood Pellet price report provided detailed information from a Natural Resources Canada / Torchlight Bioresources study on bioheat projects in Canada. This report was recently updated by Natural Resources Canada, exploring the growth of […]
US Housing Starts January & Softwood Lumber Prices February: 2021
Sharply increased homebuilding activity is being supported by lean inventories, especially for previously owned homes. As true winter weather came on across the continent, total residential starts in the US for January 2021 fell by -6% to a 1.58 million annualized rate. Permits for future homebuilding soared again, this time by +10.4% to a rate […]
North America Softwood Lumber Production, Sawmill Capacity Utilization, WWPA: Nov 2020
After some steep drops and struggling attempts to recover last year, Canadian sawmill capacity utilization rates finally reached normal levels in November 2020. Those in the US continued to maintain steady highs throughout the year. Compared to one-year-ago, for January – November 2020 softwood lumber production in the US popped up somewhat, rising by another […]
Softwood Lumber Prices Continue Rising
In the first week of February sawmills were taking orders that would not even go on the production line until the beginning of March. This provides good indication that prices are not going to go down anytime soon. Confusion continued in many quarters as both suppliers and consumers of North America construction framing dimension softwood […]
Lumber Production & Sawmill Capacity Utilization Rates: Oct 2020
Madison’s Lumber Prices vs Softwood Lumber Production & Sawmill Capacity Utilization Rates Canadian and US softwood lumber production volumes and sawmill capacity utilization rates for October 2020 (provided by the Western Wood Products Association at wwpa.org ) against Madison’s Lumber Reporter‘s dimension softwood lumber prices.
US Railcar Loadings: Feb 6, 2021
For the week ending Feb 6, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 495,815 carloads and intermodal units, up +2.2% compared with the same week last year. For the first five weeks of 2021, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 1,156,696 carloads, down -2.2% from the same point last year; and 1,442,642 intermodal units, up +11% […]