As forest industry folks returned to their desks following the respective Canadian and US May long weekends, sentiment remained cautious.
The ongoing practice of hand-to-mouth business continued. Customers saw no reason to stock lumber inventory, placing orders for only the wood they knew they had immediate needs for.
In view of that, suppliers kept manufacturing volumes lower to stay in line with this soft demand. In addition to the usual seasonal issues in transportation, specifically in sourcing trucks and rail cars, was sharply increasing fuel surcharges. Freight rates have ballooned significantly in the past couple of months,
putting even greater pressure on costs for sawmills and other forest operators. In total, there was general apathy and lack of urgency among buyers which is unusual for this time of year.
In the week ending May 29, 2026, the price of benchmark softwood lumber item Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2×4 #2&Btr KD (RL) was US$490 mfbm.
This was flat from the previous week, said weekly forest products industry price guide newsletter Madison’s Lumber Reporter.
That week’s price was flat from one month ago.
The strength of business was noticeably fragmented by region, species, and category.
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KEY TAKE-AWAYS:
- Buyers of Western-SPF in the US remained focussed on hand-to-mouth business on lacklustre downstream demand.
- Western-SPF sawmills in Canada held enough supply to satisfy current demand levels.
- There were a few pockets of challenging availability, with tighter supply in wider widths or straight lengths.
- Sawmill order files in the West were only into the first or second week of June.
- There was general apathy and lack of urgency among buyers of Eastern-SPF which is unusual for this time of year.
- Persistently high, and rising, costs of freight further reduced suppliers’ margins.
- Southern Yellow Pine prices still settled on either side of the previous week’s levels.
- Discounted SYP material thinned out dramatically as buyers had stepped in to shore up their depleted inventories.
- Eastern Stocking Wholesalers reported month-end machinations contributed to hesitation on the part of buyers.
Madison’s Benchmark Top-Six Softwood Lumber and Panel Prices: Monthly Averages
