Despite several setbacks, prices for lumber and logs in July shot up to an unprecedented 12-year high, and may continue to climb as the wildfire season begins, according to The News Review.
Surging prices can be traced to a number of factors, including the wildfires in British Columbia, Canada, coupled with mill closures due to tariffs imposed on Canadian softwood imports.
At US$405, the lumber price has smashed the US$400 per thousand board feet (MBF) for just the second time in 12 years, the last one being in the months of March and April 2013.
Similarly, logs set a record after 12 years, with prices going up to US$733 per MBF. The last strong report in the month of July was in 2015, and the price stood at US$679 per MBF, in comparison. Factors for the high price are the current shortage of logs in relation to lumber production in Southern Oregon and Willamette Valley, Oregon.
Additionally, a upward bump in housing starts and building permits, coupled with lowered interest rates, have fuelled the high prices for lumber and logs, and building rates have exceeded 1.2 million units per year, as adjusted.
Source: The News Review
