As Expected, The Week Following The Big Us Thanksgiving Break Brought A Drop
In Sales Of Lumber Across North America.
The usual seasonal slow-down arrived, as both suppliers and customers looked
forward to the annual Holiday closures. While 2024 was not exactly a year of
robust lumber sales, at least the price trendlines returned to some normalcy
in comparison to historical. Players felt confident about making New Year
plans.
The now regular practice of sawmills to curtail when demand was low; with
the goal of keeping manufacturing volumes in line with slumping sales, was
successful in at least preventing prices from dropping below
cost-of-production. While still muted,the expectation for lumber sales in
2025 is for improvement over the past two years.
In the week ending December 6, 2024, the price of benchmark softwood lumber
item Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2×4 #2&Btr KD (RL) was US$475 mfbm. This is up
+$5, or +1%, from the previous week when it was $470, said weekly forest
products industry price guide newsletter Madison’s Lumber Reporter.
That week’s price is up +$14, or +3%, from one month ago when it was $461.
KEY TAKE-AWAYS:
Post-US Thanksgiving inquiry took a noticeable dip.
Vast swathes of the North American construction industry began their
seasonally-typical slowdowns.
Buyers were phoning around to distributers and wholesalers for coverage of
small-volume fill-in needs.
Savvy players warned of considerable volatility in the New Year as the
market appeared to be more oversold than overbought.
Most sales occurred at the distribution level as buyers focussed on
quicker-shipping orders with more tally-flexibility.
For buyers, short-term replenishment was the name of the game.
Delivery times were unfortunately more troublesome as winter weather set in.
MADISON’S BENCHMARK TOP-SIX SOFTWOOD LUMBER AND PANEL PRICES: MONTHLY
AVERAGES
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