Traders found few orders to cover after the holiday weekend in the U.S. and Canada, and many key framing lumber prices weakened. The South was an exception. While consumption was dulled by Hurricane Gustav, concern
about the impact on logging was a mitigating factor. A number of mills
in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi were shut down by the storm;
some areas still lacked power on Thursday. Across the U.S., dealers
tracked shipments with some urgency due to their thin inventories.
Week
Sep 5
Week Aug 29
Year Ago
2007
Random Lengths Framing
Lumber Composite Price*
$283
$285
$282
KD Western S-P-F #2&Btr 2x4 R/L
Mill Price
269
280
252
KD Eastern S-P-F #1&2 2x4 R/L,
delivered Great Lakes
363
368
335
Green Douglas Fir Std&Btr 2x4
R/L (Portland)
178
185
233
Southern Pine (Westside) #2 2x4 R/L
325
318
258
KD Coast Hem-Fir Std&Btr 2x4 R/L
250
255
263
Ponderosa Pine (Inland) #2&Btr
1x12 R/L
425
430
660
* Weighted
average of 15 key items
OSB languished while plywood sales surged in structural panel markets.
Slack demand left OSB producers struggling to gain a toehold in most
markets. This was especially discouraging to producers in light of more
active plywood sales. In Southern Pine plywood, sheathing prices jumped
by double digits in all zones. A series of hurricanes and tropical
storms created power outages at multiple westside mills. Western Fir
plywood producers rode the strength of order files gained last week.
