Random Lengths Lumber Market Report
Mixed price trends kept framing lumber traders off balance in mid-April. Gains were mostly secured in the Southern Pine market, with treaters, home centers, and truss manufacturers among the most active buyers. Prices softened in Western and Eastern S-P-F. In the West, the brisk sales pace of recent weeks moderated; prices of Hem Fir were firm, while weakness was prevalent in green and dry Douglas Fir. The Random Lengths Framing Lumber Composite Price fell for the first time in 11 weeks.
| This Week Apr 15 |
Last Week Apr 8 |
Year Ago 2015 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Random Lengths Framing Lumber Composite Price* | $346 | $347 | $336 |
| KD Western S-P-F #2&Btr 2×4 R/L Mill Price | 294 | 308 | 269 |
| KD Eastern S-P-F #1&2 2×4 R/L, delivered Great Lakes | 384 | 389 | 369 |
| Green Douglas Fir Std&Btr 2×4 R/L (Portland) | 325 | 335 | 295 |
| Southern Pine (Westside) #2 2×4 R/L | 411 | 400 | 406 |
| KD Coast Hem-Fir #2&Btr 2×4 R/L | 382 | 378 | 310 |
| Ponderosa Pine (Inland) #2&Btr 1×12 R/L | 685 | 685 | 670 |
| * Weighted average of 15 key items |
Random Lengths Panel Market Report
Structural panel prices shifted in both directions amid a slower overall trading pace. Solid mill order files kept OSB prices on a firm to higher track, although sales slowed from the pace of previous weeks. Buyers took on a more cautious tone. In Southern Pine plywood markets, prices of rated sheathing softened. Activity at the retail and distribution levels was brisk, but eroding order files put pressure on mills to find trading levels. A slow week of trading at the mill level resulted in a few cracks appearing in western Fir plywood prices.
| (f.o.b. mill prices) | This Week Apr 15 |
Last Week Apr 8 |
Year Ago 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Random Lengths Structural Panel Composite Price* | $359 | $360 | $369 |
| Southern (west-east) 15/32-inch 3-ply rated sheathing plywood | 360-385 | 370-393 | 430-487 |
| Southern (west-east) 15/32-inch 4-ply rated sheathing plywood | 363-390 | 373-397 | 435-490 |
| Western 1/2-inch 4-ply rated sheathing plywood | 363 | 369 | 425 |
| North Central 7/16-inch Oriented Strand Board | 247 | 242 | 180 |
| *Weighted average of 11 key items |
Source: Random Lengths, republished here with permission granted by the publisher.