Madison’s Weekly Softwood Lumber Prices
MADISON’S SOFTWOOD LUMBER MARKET WEEKLY COMMENT:
Key comment: “North American construction framing softwood lumber prices of most commodities (US$ per mfbm, net FOB sawmill) continued dropping last week amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”
Prices updated March 30, 2020 (CLICK TABLE TO ENLARGE)
Weekly North America #Softwood #Lumber Prices: Movers and Shakers
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)
ALSO CHECK OUT OUR WEEKLY SOFTWOOD LUMBER AND PANEL PRICE GRAPHS AND CHARTS PAGE
SOFTWOOD LUMBER INDUSTRY MARKET PRICES, NEWS AND INFORMATION
This Week: Madison’s 12-year Anniversary Under Third Owner
Twelve years ago this week Madison’s Lumber Reporter’s second owner, Laurence Cater (Laurie) retired and I took over ownership of the company. Peter Madison started the weekly North American construction framing dimension softwood lumber price newsletter in Sept 1952, then Laurie bought it from Peter in 1973 and the two worked together for five years. In 2003 I was hired by Laurie for layout and print production work of the weekly 12-page newsletter and the annual Madison’s Canadian Sawmill Directory….
US Home Building, General Economy
An excellent article out of the US National Association of Home Builders this morning demonstrates well what Madison’s has been saying regarding the importance of home building and home sales for the US macroeconomy. The share of real estate activity in US GDP alone provides a strong basis to this analysis: How US Home Building Can Lead a Recovery by Generating Jobs — NAHB BY PAUL EMRATH on APRIL 2, 2020 http://eyeonhousing.org/2020/04/how-home-building-can-lead-a-recovery-by-generating-jobs/ FULL STORY: https://www.nahbclassic.org/generic.aspx?sectionID=734 The new estimates show that building an average…
US Housing Starts Feb 2020 vs Softwood Lumber Prices
A recent headline from Metal Miner magazine declares, “U.S. Housing Starts Surge More Than +39% Year-Over-Year in February 2020,” while — describing the same data — Reuters says, “U.S. Housing Starts Fall Less Than Expected in February 2020.” Who to believe? Well, both.Housing starts in the US dropped -1.5% in February 2020, pulled down by a sharp decline in the construction of multifamily housing units, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.6 million units, the US Commerce Department and…
North American Softwood Lumber Supply Inconsistent as Demand Wavers
Sawmill operators across Canada and the US chopped softwood lumber prices last week (03/30/20) by a wide margin in response to: wavering demand; both surpluses and shortages with supply (depending on who was being asked for which commodity); and, yet more transportation issues than the previous week. A two-tiered market was in full force, as stocking wholesalers, reloads, and secondary suppliers offered steep discounts on whatever inventory they considered surplus, even as supply became tight following producer curtailments all across…
Madison’s Weekly Softwood Lumber Prices: March 27, 2020
North American construction framing softwood lumber prices of most commodities (US$ per mfbm, net FOB sawmill) continued dropping last week amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. — Madison’s Lumber Reporter Weekly North America #Softwood #Lumber Prices: Movers and Shakers In week ending March 27, 2020, the price of benchmark softwood lumber commodity Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2×4 #2&Btr KD (RL) were slashed $50, or -12%, from the previous week to US$356 mfbm. Last week’s price is $90, or -20%, less than it was…
Softwood Lumber Demand Remains High as Supply Chain and Sawmill Production Changes are Ongoing
There were more questions than answers last week as US and Canadian softwood lumber demand remained high but stocking wholesalers and resellers struggled with issues around the need to quarantine and keep social distance for their staff. Sawmills and lumber producers were often occupied with customers who were trying to cancel, or even get refunds on, orders already made. The Canadian federal government as well as most US states deemed lumber and other construction material as “essential” — meaning these…
Madison’s Extends Data Coverage …. New Prices Added
Since autumn 2019 Madison’s embarked on the exciting task of adding a wide range of new North American softwood lumber and panel price coverage to our regular list of commodities. By January 2020 we were satisfied with the credibility and accuracy of the new price gathering. Shortly, within a few weeks, these new prices will be available along with all the prices currently accessed by Madison’s subscribers. To view the historical price sheet and softwood lumber commodity prices regularly covered by Madison’s Lumber Reporter until now, please…
Madison’s Extends Data Coverage …. New Prices Added
Since autumn 2019 Madison’s embarked on the exciting task of adding a wide range of new North American softwood lumber and panel price coverage to our regular list of commodities. By January 2020 we were satisfied with the credibility and accuracy of the new price gathering. Shortly, within a few weeks, these new prices will be available along with all the prices currently accessed by Madison’s subscribers. To view the price sheet and softwood lumber commodity prices regularly covered by Madison’s Lumber Reporter until now,…
Softwood Lumber Prices Waffle as Demand Stays Strong but Supply-Chain Issues Cause Delivery Delays
This week the full effect of response to the virus contagion has reached the North American softwood lumber market: in general it is business-as-usual, however transportation is proving to be both a problem and a blessing. North America Construction Framing Softwood Lumber Prices: March 13, 2020 Madison’s intrepid lumber market analyst is right now doing the usual Thursday softwood lumber market survey of Canadian and US sawmills and secondary suppliers (reloads, stocking wholesalers, etc). The next update for subscribers will…
Madison’s Weekly Softwood Lumber Price Graphs: Mar 17, 2020
PRICES REFLECT MARCH 13, 2020 ISSUE OF MADISON’S LUMBER REPORTER BENCHMARK 2×4 Kiln Dried R/L #Construction #Framing #North #American #Softwood #Lumber and Panel Prices Graphs: March 13, 2020 Western SPF: USA Concern Western Spruce-Pine-Fir purveyors in the United States described a “super-cautious” lumber market last week as worries about the Coronavirus reached a fever pitch. Softwood lumber producers froze their asking prices and held order files around three weeks out, hoping to wait out the current panic among buyers. A…