Lumber prices too high

[mike_belben]

I hit that stage when massachusetts made all duallies commercial and suddenly i couldnt use any of my homemade trailers anymore.  Real crime wasnt getting cleaned up but the definition of crime was broadened to include me, a taxpaying veteran, and it was getting enforced on me at great expense.  Any legal way i tried to support myself had so many tributes paid to everyone else that it wasnt much better than staying in the projects for free so i had no choice but to leave.   

[customsawyer]

Spoke to a local lumber yard manager the other day. OSB is still on the rise. 2x4x8 came down $50.00/M two weeks ago and $100.00/M last week. Don't know if this is the start of something or not.

[moodnacreek]

Spoke to a local lumber yard manager the other day. OSB is still on the rise. 2x4x8 came down $50.00/M two weeks ago and $100.00/M last week. Don't know if this is the start of something or not.

Sounds like it's over.

[Ed_K]

 Over the last week the price on the stock market has dropped to the low $1200s per 1mbf.

[Southside]

So to put it into a daily number, we are talking $5.50 gas down from $7.00 and everyone is happy again?  

[WDH]

Hardwood lumber prices have moved up higher and are still steadily increasing.  In this week's Hardwood Market, 4/4 FAS poplar was $1.99/bf and red oak was actually lower at $1.93/bf.  Never seen poplar (yellow poplar) sell for more than red oak.  White oak prices have gone up crazy.  4/4 FAS white oak at $4.18/bf.  8/4 white oak at $6.19 versus 8/4 walnut at $6.45.  Lace up your boot straps tight!

[woodroe]

Not to derail the topic but related to building as well, metal roofing panels just jumped up $5 per 8' sheet overnight
at the big box stores. I know because i need some for a new shed being built.
Found another supplier who hadn't raised price yet but will be with the next shipment.

[nativewolf]

Softwood has been falling steadily, nice gradual slide in prices.  

[quilbilly]

Softwood has been falling steadily, nice gradual slide in prices.  

Hope they don't fall too much. I'd like it to stay around 1000/mbf. We are gonna start a decent softwood job in July or August and would really like that price to stay up. 

[nativewolf]

I hear you, it was a bit frothy But the  decline has been slow.  Lots of new capacity announced in SE of USA. A slow decline and leveling off (say 1000) would be great for softwood landowners and loggers as it would encourage some higher log pricing.

[barbender]

I don't think loggers will ever see more, because there are too many of them content to work for too little. If there was ever a time loggers should be making a pile of cash it is now. 

[quilbilly]

I don't think loggers will ever see more, because there are too many of them content to work for too little. If there was ever a time loggers should be making a pile of cash it is now.

Many out here are, although a poorly run business will always be that. Just heard of a local company going down. Selling 10ish pieces of equipment. Might buy a piece or two myself if I can. Just a few years ago they bought a new machine just for the tax write-off. Don't know what happened. They were making lots of cash for a long time. 

[BAN]

I don't think loggers will ever see more, because there are too many of them content to work for too little. If there was ever a time loggers should be making a pile of cash it is now.

Many out here are, although a poorly run business will always be that. Just heard of a local company going down. Selling 10ish pieces of equipment. Might buy a piece or two myself if I can. Just a few years ago they bought a new machine just for the tax write-off. Don't know what happened. They were making lots of cash for a long time.

Buddy of mine came over from P.A. last weekend and said even Alder prices are high over there. To many guys over here to see prices move much. Boise gave $600 for peelers for a month and bought enough wood for the summer. Wont even buy now.. Stuck sending nicer wood to Idaho for less than $500 now. Fire season could change fall prices but right now mills are full.

[nativewolf]

For better or worse the price of lumber in Chicago fell 18% this week.  Sawmills are getting back to normal?  Trucking?  Switch to rail?  I have no idea.

I do know that one of our best buyers mill is struggling getting back to work, only 3 days a week last month and this month due to lack of people.  Time to cut those govt checks off I would say, you have a vaccine if you wanted one.  

[quilbilly]

I don't think loggers will ever see more, because there are too many of them content to work for too little. If there was ever a time loggers should be making a pile of cash it is now.

Many out here are, although a poorly run business will always be that. Just heard of a local company going down. Selling 10ish pieces of equipment. Might buy a piece or two myself if I can. Just a few years ago they bought a new machine just for the tax write-off. Don't know what happened. They were making lots of cash for a long time.

Buddy of mine came over from P.A. last weekend and said even Alder prices are high over there. To many guys over here to see prices move much. Boise gave $600 for peelers for a month and bought enough wood for the summer. Wont even buy now.. Stuck sending nicer wood to Idaho for less than $500 now. Fire season could change fall prices but right now mills are full.

Are they still planning on increasing the cut for the Okanogan NF? If so that won't help either. The company going under is for lack of trucks. Huge shortage out here. If you don't pay $25 an hour you can't even get a rookie in the seat. When most of the industrial production sides get 20+ loads per day, finding those ten trucks is hard.  

[LowOil]

Hardwood lumber prices have moved up higher and are still steadily increasing.  In this week's Hardwood Market, 4/4 FAS poplar was $1.99/bf and red oak was actually lower at $1.93/bf.  Never seen poplar (yellow poplar) sell for more than red oak.  White oak prices have gone up crazy.  4/4 FAS white oak at $4.18/bf.  8/4 white oak at $6.19 versus 8/4 walnut at $6.45.  Lace up your boot straps tight!

Sir, do you perchance have a link to that market price for the average layman to view. This is my first post, and been using this forum to understand the market better for someone that has just inherited a sizeable few plots to manage. @WDH ... and thank you for your time. 

[WDH]

Sir, the Hardwood Market Report is a subscription service that you have to buy.  It is $320per year.  You can view the Report on-line, but you have to be a subscriber with a login and password.  If you have a specific question, I will try to answer it for you. 

[LowOil]

Sir, the Hardwood Market Report is a subscription service that you have to buy.  It is $320per year.  You can view the Report on-line, but you have to be a subscriber with a login and password.  If you have a specific question, I will try to answer it for you.

Thank you sir, you eased my mind with just knowing the lumber prices I saw were not all telling the true market value... I now know that hardwood and softwood are different markets and thus when I see the wild fluctuations that does not mean my property has dropped in value overnight.

I imagine the ethics of the site do not allow a glimpse of what that report would look like, but I might be able to see an older report that gives me an idea if it is worth the expenditure. I will see what google (Startpage or DuckDuckGo) lets me see. But just knowing that lumber is not one big lump market value did my heart good.

[Ianab]

I now know that hardwood and softwood are different markets and thus when I see the wild fluctuations that does not mean my property has dropped in value overnight

That hasn't happened. The reported drops are basically the softwood ( pretty much construction lumber) starting to head back down to "normal" after some pandemic associated supply chain issues. 

Internationally (and in the US), log prices haven't changed much, and that's what people here are lamenting. Price of construction lumber has more than doubled, but the price paid for logs hasn't changed. That's because the "bottleneck" is in the sawmills and distribution. They are not having to pay extra for logs as they can still source all they can process for the normal price. "Someone" is making a huge profit somewhere, but it's not the land owners, or loggers. 

The log prices do vary of course, but for the land owner, that's more about timing your harvest. It's not like corn or beans where you HAVE to harvest it in a certain week. If prices are low right now (and you don't need the $$ this year) then you can leave the trees standing and wait a couple of years for the price cycle to move on. If log prices get too low, no one want's to sell their trees, and low supply brings the prices up again. 

[WDH]

I believe that the Hardwood market Report will give you a complimentary copy of the weekly report if you are considering subscribing.  You should ask them. 

[PoginyHill]

Future prices have come down 40% or so since mid-May. This is "random length" - not sure if hardwood, softwood, or some mix of the two. Regardless, I'd guess the trend is the same for both HW and SW.



 

[WDH]

Random Lengths is softwood only.  Hardwoods are reported on the Hardwood Market Report.

[ehp]

The report today for here says lumber price dropped by 20% and will drop more here shortly

[mike_belben]

DAT said freight rates have stopped climbing and are holding steady as loads decrease.  So that marks the freight peak.

[Southside]

Ocean freight is still climbing. Second wave inbound?