Normal Seasonal Slow-Down Brings Flat Lumber Prices

As the dual Canada Day – US Independence Day long weekend arrived, most softwood lumber and panel prices stayed relatively flat compared to the previous week.

This is the time of year when lumber demand starts to drop and prices either fall or remain flat. The large-volume buyers — the big US home builders — have made their purchases, and received their wood, for planned construction projects to autumn. Across North America sawmills choose this time to take seasonal and maintenance curtailments and downtime. There have been quite a few announcements of this in recent weeks; to learn more check out the latest issue of the new monthly Madison’s Sawmill Curtailment Lookout: https://madisonsreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/MadisonsSawmillLookout_2022-june.pdf

Check back with the Madison’s website www.madisonsreport.com often for the latest softwood lumber prices and market updates.

Popping up slightly from the previous week, for the week ending July 1, 2022 the price of benchmark softwood lumber item Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2×4 #2&Btr KD (RL) was again US$640 mfbm, said weekly forest products industry price guide newsletter Madison’s Lumber Reporter. This is up by +$10, or +2% from the previous week when it was $630 and is down by -$15, or -2%, from one month ago when it was $625. Sawmills were firm on most of their asking prices while extending order files into the weeks of July 11th and 18th.

As the double national holiday weekend approached, demand for North American lumber seemed to firm up across the board.” – Madison’s Lumber Reporter

The upcoming national holidays of Canada Day and Independence Day set the stage for strong sales. Western S-P-F buyers in the United States worked to cover at least their immediate needs if not more. Primary and secondary suppliers alike were notably busy until around midweek, at which point many customers had covered the essentials and shifted their focus to some relaxing time off. As players on both sides of the border prepared to enjoy national holiday celebrations, purveyors of  Western S-P-F lumber in Canada reported solid demand and takeaway overall. Sales petered out near the end of the week as everyone took off work early, but business up to Thursday was mighty encouraging.  

Solid demand and follow-through were evident in the Eastern S-P-F market as commodity prices settled into an apparent trading range. Determined customers were able to source enough material to plug holes in their inventories, but that required plenty of calling around to both primary and secondary suppliers. By midweek several producers were off the market on a number of items, further reducing the options available to buyers.” – Madison’s Lumber Report

Madison’s Benchmark Top-Six Softwood Lumber and Panel Prices: Monthly Averages

Compared to the same week last year, when it was US$760 mfbm, the price of Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2×4 #2&Btr KD (RL) for the week ending July 1, 2022 was down by -$120, or -16%. Compared to two years’ ago when it was $468, that week’s price is up by +$172, or +37%.