The Easter long weekend did little to bring an increase in demand for North America construction framing dimension softwood lumber.
While some prices had risen slightly in recent weeks, most activity toward mid-April was industry searching out where their orders were in the transportation network. Even as true spring weather materialized across the continent, sentiment for housing construction activity was lukewarm at best.
It was a situation of players wanting to see actual evidence of rising demand before committing to purchasing more wood. Sawmills in Canada and the US remained at lower manufacturing volumes. At the same time, investment in
timber harvest has been done and lumber producers are well-stocked with logs for whenever demand does improve.
In the week ending April 10, 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 up +$18, or +4%, from one month ago when it was $472.
The recent upward trend in solid wood product prices was driven more by lack of supply than surging spring demand.
To subscribe to Madison’s Lumber Reporter, simply fill out an order form here: https://madisonsreport.com/subscribe/
KEY TAKE-AWAYS:
- Sellers of Western-SPF in the US described a firm market that continued to follow the lead of Southern Yellow Pine price increases.
- Ongoing and prevailing lack of supply was more evident with each passing day.
- Western-SPF suppliers in Canada reported that the recent positive trend in pricing was undergirded by consistently rising fuel costs.
- Many buyers got off the fence to cover their short-term inventory needs.
- Secondary suppliers offered price levels well below their replacement costs.
- Customers were increasingly focussed on securing specific tallies and dependable shipping times rather than pushing back on prices.
- Eastern-SPF sales continued to be largely driven by lack of supply rather than surging spring demand.
- Producers of Southern Yellow Pine were increasingly defensive after having sharply raised prices in recent weeks.
- On the US eastern seaboard, Eastern Stocking Wholesalers worked furiously to track down cross-country shipments that were behind, stranded, or worse.
Madison’s Benchmark Top-Six Softwood Lumber and Panel Prices: Monthly Averages
