The extent of damage to transportation infrastructure and supply chain in southern British Columbia following the massive flooding in November is now known. After closing down two times the Port of Vancouver is now fully re-open, as both railways are running again. The Canadian Pacific and Canadian National railways are sharing the one repaired rail line from Kamloops to Vancouver, so wood from the important fibre basket of the B.C. Interior is once again moving. However, enormous backlogs are built up, both at sawmills and at the Port of Vancouver (the third largest by volume in North America).

Since lumber customers were keeping very lean inventories in the hopes that prices would go down toward the end of the year, which was historically the usual seasonal trend, the supply-demand balance is firmly in favour of producers and prices are rising steadily. It is quite interesting that the current trend line is almost exactly matching the same time last year.

As shocked customers searched hungrily for any wood they could find, in the week ending December 3, 2021 the price of benchmark lumber item Western S-P-F 2×4 #2&Btr KD (RL) jumped dramatically, up by +$65 or +10% to US$710 mfbm, from $645 the previous week, said lumber industry price guide newsletter Madison’s Lumber Reporter. That week’s price is up by +$81, or +13%, from one month ago when it was $629.

Prices advanced on nearly every commodity while supply chains and transportation networks languished.


“Price volatility was the watchword, with most buyers abandoning any sense of caution as they frantically tried to find coverage.” — Madison’s Lumber Reporter