As March drew to a close many lumber prices started to rise slightly. Levels currently were right in the middle, between those of the same time last year and in 2024.
Despite an extended winter and soft demand, this is encouraging to industry as regular seasonal price stability is best for planning.
Expectations for housing construction this year are for similar activity to last year, however no one really knows. At this time of great upheaval and much uncertainty, it is not clear how business will be as summer comes on.
For their part, sawmills had no plans to ramp up production volumes until there were obvious signs that improved demand will be ongoing. Customers, behaving with equal caution, continued to not stock inventory.
If home building does increase this year, the very weak field inventories throughout the supply chain might become a problem for end-users.
In the week ending March 27, 2026, the price of benchmark softwood lumber item Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2×4 #2&Btr KD (RL) was US$485 mfbm. This was up +$5, or +1%, from the previous week when it was $480, said weekly forest products industry price guide newsletter Madison’s Lumber Reporter.
That week’s price was up +$21, or +4%, from one month ago when it was $465.
Most lumber prices rose, in a somewhat fragile manner, except Southern Yellow Pine and plywood which popped upward.
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KEY TAKE-AWAYS:
- Buyers of Western-SPF in the US jammed suppliers’ phone lines.
- Inquiries were either to fill holes in thin inventories or check on previously-ordered material due to delivery delays.
- Sellers described the market as fragmented.
- Canadian suppliers of Western-SPF pointed out that inquiry and sales were slow.
- Strengthening prices, tight supply, and tenuous demand combined to lend an air of fragility to an otherwise robust tone.
- Sawmills spent a lot of time dealing with enduring issues of rising freight rates in the transportation sector.
- Successful transactions for Eastern-SPF were more dependent on reload and freight logistics than on mill availability.
- Low-grade items were a tricky gambit for US buyers as duties and tariffs on Canadian lumber all but shut off those exports.
- Order files were pushing into mid-April, sawmills slowly extended lead times as they nudged prices up.
- Suppliers of Southern Yellow Pine boosted their asking prices again across all regions and items with few exceptions.
- Eastern Stocking Wholesalers reported Douglas-fir commodity prices were flat but firm.
- Rush loads were a thing of the past, and spring had only just sprung.
Madison’s Benchmark Top-Six Softwood Lumber and Panel Prices: Monthly Averages
