Cracks in prices of framing lumber widened as some producers pushed harder to fill holes in order files or move prompt loads out of their yards. Not all items were vulnerable. The sharp reduction in output over the past two years and tightening amid the seasonal breakup period resulted in shortages of some items, particularly those less reliant on demand from the new housing sector. Key green Fir prices, which sagged last week, remained in full retreat.
Week
Jun 6
Week
May 30
Year Ago
2007
Random Lengths Framing
Lumber Composite Price*
$275
$281
$297
KD Western S-P-F #2&Btr 2x4 R/L
Mill Price
249
252
270
KD Eastern S-P-F #1&2 2x4 R/L,
delivered Great Lakes
330
320
355
Green Douglas Fir Std&Btr 2x4
R/L (Portland)
225
247
240
Southern Pine (Westside) #2 2x4 R/L
327
331
291
KD Coast Hem-Fir Std&Btr 2x4 R/L
243
245
267
Ponderosa Pine (Inland) #2&Btr
1x12 R/L
485
480
675
* Weighted
average of 15 key items
Structural panel trading continued to lose momentum. Sales of OSB quieted. Prices drifted higher in early trading, but upward momentum eased later in the week. Finding trucks was a problem across much of the country. Southern Pine plywood trading entered a lull as buyers stayed on the sidelines or purchased in dribs and drabs. Mill order files thinned to a week or less, prompting some producers to lower quotes and listen for counters. In western Fir plywood, another week of sluggish sales left most mills facing order files of a week or less.
