By Madison's Lumber Reporter
What a month for big news in forestry February 2020 has been so far, with last week’s U.S. Commerce Dept.’s announcement of preliminary lowered softwood lumber duties on Canadian wood imports, and a potential resolution to the extremely long-lasting forestry labour disruption on British Columbia’s west coast just this week.
As well this week the Western Wood Products Association’s monthly Lumber Track shows Canadian sawmill capacity utilization starting to recover from brutal lows in the first half of 2019, while in the U.S. it remained essentially flat over the previous year. U.S. sawmill production as per cent of practical capacity for the first eleven months of 2019 rose from the early months of 2019, and is at 84 per cent, from 86 per cent for the same time in 2018. Canadian sawmill production as per cent of practical capacity recovered from brutal lows in mid-2019, to 80 per cent in January – November 2019 compared to 88 per cent the previous year.
In the week ending Feb. 7, 2020, benchmark North American construction framing lumber item Western Spruce-Pine-Fir KD 2×4 #2&Btr (RL) prices jumped significantly, up by +$18, or +4%, compared to the previous week, to U.S. $426 mfbm. This week’s price is +$24, or +6%, more than it was one month ago. Reaching levels similar to the same time last year, this price is up by +$4, or +1%.
As a comparison, for its part the price of #3/Utility grade of this commodity group has risen sharply in the past couple of weeks, up Friday by $18, to U.S. $320 mfbm. Western Spruce-Pine-Fir KD 2×4 #3/Utility (RL) price is +$48, or +18%, more than it was one month ago, while compared to the same time last year this price is down by +$12, or +4%.
What a month for big news in forestry February 2020 has been so far, with last week’s U.S. Commerce Dept.’s announcement of preliminary lowered softwood lumber duties on Canadian wood imports, and a potential resolution to the extremely long-lasting forestry labour disruption on British Columbia’s west coast just this week.
As well this week the Western Wood Products Association’s monthly Lumber Track shows Canadian sawmill capacity utilization starting to recover from brutal lows in the first half of 2019, while in the U.S. it remained essentially flat over the previous year. U.S. sawmill production as per cent of practical capacity for the first eleven months of 2019 rose from the early months of 2019, and is at 84 per cent, from 86 per cent for the same time in 2018. Canadian sawmill production as per cent of practical capacity recovered from brutal lows in mid-2019, to 80 per cent in January – November 2019 compared to 88 per cent the previous year.
In the week ending Feb. 7, 2020, benchmark North American construction framing lumber item Western Spruce-Pine-Fir KD 2×4 #2&Btr (RL) prices jumped significantly, up by +$18, or +4%, compared to the previous week, to U.S. $426 mfbm. This week’s price is +$24, or +6%, more than it was one month ago. Reaching levels similar to the same time last year, this price is up by +$4, or +1%.
As a comparison, for its part the price of #3/Utility grade of this commodity group has risen sharply in the past couple of weeks, up Friday by $18, to U.S. $320 mfbm. Western Spruce-Pine-Fir KD 2×4 #3/Utility (RL) price is +$48, or +18%, more than it was one month ago, while compared to the same time last year this price is down by +$12, or +4%.
