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By The Canadian Press

Benchmark lumber prices jump to a record US$1,000 despite slowdown in sales volumes

Feb 17, 2021 | 10:07 AM

CALGARY – Homebuyers and renovators hoping for a mid-winter price slump are instead being greeted with new all-time record high prices for lumber and oriented strandboard (OSB) building panels.

CIBC analyst Hamir Patel says Western SPF (spruce, pine, fir) lumber prices rose to a four-digit close for the first time on Tuesday, reaching US$1,000 per thousand board feet, according to market watcher Random Lengths.

In a report, he says the North American composite lumber price rose about one per cent to an all-time high of US$979, despite lower sales due to the seasonal construction slowdown and the affect of extreme cold weather in Canada and the U.S. on sawmills and shipping.

Meanwhile, he says, the price of benchmark North Central region OSB panels increased by 1.2 per cent from Friday to a record US$845 per thousand square feet, while OSB pricing in Western Canada improved by the same amount to an all-time high of US$870.

In a report on Tuesday, RBC analyst Paul Quinn said North American softwood lumber production increased by 7.2 per cent in November versus the same month in 2019 but consumption rose by 14.8 per cent.

Citing Western Wood Products Association statistics, he said production jumped by 8.2 per cent to about 2.9 billion board feet in the U.S. while Canadian production increased 5.9 per cent to about two billion.

by The Canadian Press