RISI Crow’s Market Recap for April 13

A price index of lumber and panels used in actual construction for April 13, 2018.

Western: regional species perimeter foundation
Southern: regional species slab construction

Crow's Market Recap: A condensed recap of the market conditions for the major North American softwood lumber and panel products as reported in Crow's Weekly Market Report.


Lumber

The pace of trading in SPF eased compared to the prior week. Having purchased, many buyers awaited shipments that are currently leaving BC mills a month late. Enough demand and slow shipments equated to moderately higher prices at western mills.

• The basic price trends in play the week prior persisted in Southern Pine. Both 2x6 and 2x10 in upper grades gained. Limited 2x10 production aided those prices.


• After finding some trading levels the prior couple of weeks, Coastal species trading activity was largely flat with some moderate price adjustments in some items. The market lacked urgency and momentum across many items. Traders often blamed weather across parts of the country for keeping a lid on demand.


• Inland pricing from mill to mill tended to show some sizable variations, based on volume and species a given producer needed to move.


• Most stud prices were steady to moderately higher. Eastern SPF producers sold solid volumes, citing 2x4 9’ as the strongest item. Limited availability at western Canadian mills, especially in 2x4 8’ and 9’, helped push prices out of eastern mills higher. Coastal and Inland species were not as strong.


• Radiata Pine exports from New Zealand continued to be gobbled by China, even though a number of key moulding manufacturers have demonstrated financial vulnerability.


• Ponderosa Pine #2 Shop has not assumed the market strength most of the industry has predicted for this year. Prices continued to wait for stronger demand. Ponderosa Pine Selects and Commons showed no signs of a spring run.


• Idaho White Pine remained stable in all of its prices, still being sought despite its thin production volumes.


• ESLP Commons showed some fairly sizable increases, based on new stock coming to market by key production.


• Some Western Red Cedar producers reported steady sales activity. Others noted they saw a distinct pickup in buyers looking for shipments toward the end of the month and early May.

Panels

Activity in OSB markets was spotty this week, mostly held back by lingering winter weather in the North. Buyers maintained a cautious air, with inventories managed on the thin side. Mill prices were sideways to down $5 in the United States and unchanged to down $10 in Canada.

• After running inventories low, Southern Pine plywood buyers began the week digging for price and availability from producers. Those buyers entered the market in greater numbers Wednesday to purchase sizable volumes. Buyers included wholesalers, who covered shorts and took up moderate speculative positions.


• Entering this week’s Western Fir plywood market with eroded order files, producers made moves to more earnestly find trading levels for CDX panels. Sales remained sluggish. Some mild increases in activity took place by the week’s end, but prices remained soft by Friday. Canadian plywood activity was quiet again this week. Wintry weather continued across much of the country, especially in the Prairies, bringing jobs to a crawl.


• Both particleboard and MDF producers used the word “steady” the most to describe activity in their markets. A few noted their sales pace picked up “moderately” in recent weeks.

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