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Lumber Prices Flatten as Sales Volumes Continue to Rise
Lumber end-users and resellers alike shed their reluctance of the past few months to make purchases, as prices have returned to what would be considered historically “normal” levels. Once again lumber inventories were extremely lean, as those who could wait to buy wood did so. The previously stratospheric price levels of spring were a long-distant…
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US New Home Sales, House Prices August and Softwood Lumber Prices September: 2021
The U.S. Census Bureau and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development released September 24 new home sales and house price data. New home sales comprise 10% of real estate activity and are considered a leading housing market indicator as they are recorded when contracts are signed. Continuing to recover after slight drops in…
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Canada and US Railcar Loadings: September 18, 2021
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported September 22 US and Canadian rail traffic volumes for the week ending September 18, 2021. US railroads originated 234,790 carloads and 270,832 intermodal units for the week ending September 18, 2021, up +3.5% and down -8.5% respectively from the same week last year. Total combined US rail traffic…
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US Housing Starts AUGUST & Softwood Lumber Prices SEPTEMBER: 2021
After falling by -7% in July, US total housing starts for August 2021 increased by +4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.615 million. For August 2021, total residential starts in the US shot up by +12.3% from the same month one year ago, when it was 1.416 million. Improving further over gains throughout…
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Seller Confidence Returns as Lumber Price Increases Accelerate
After a big lull in sales and steeply falling lumber prices — albeit from unsustainable highs — for the week ending September 10, 2021, sales volumes improved further and with that lumber prices again increased. As often repeated by Madison’s: Labour Day long weekend provides good indication of whether lumber sales will slow to the…
