RISI Crow’s Market Recap for April 27

A price index of lumber and panels used in actual construction for April 27, 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

SPF sales remained active, continuing to place upward pressure on most key prices. Lead times at western mills extended into mid-May, which often equated to June railcar shipments and July deliveries.

• Throughout the distribution pipeline Southern Pine sold at a strong rate. It did not flow unencumbered, however, as severely restricted truck availability generated a market in which late shipments were the norm. Retailers turned to distributors for fill in volumes while waiting on late deliveries from mills.


• Coastal species pricing overall was on firmer footing as green Doug Fir managed to establish trading levels but at lower prices than the prior week. Most dry prices continued to hold steady or edge moderately higher.


• Activity levels appreciated in Inland lumber, nearly bottoming Fir-Larch and increasing the price levels of most Hem-Fir items. Hem-Fir was clearly the leader of the region again, gaining further strength, while Fir-Larch searched for firm footing.


• A combination of solid demand and limited availability produced upward pressure in stud prices. SPF mill offerings often sold out early at higher levels and then were spooned out sparingly late.


• Radiata Pine lumber prices were reported in some fairly wide ranges. Numbers up to $50 below listed Shop prices showed on some reports, but key exporters and most New Zealand prices were unchanged.


• Ponderosa Pine Mldg&Btr and Shop remained flat-lined with regard to prices. Demand for Shop was sufficient to keep the numbers unchanged, but not enough to give the market any new energy. Ponderosa Pine Selects and Commons were still suffering some of the effects of a late breakup. Inquiries for Commons were “pretty strong,” given the condition of most inventories.


• Most Western Red Cedar traders reported a steady market, void of any significant changes. Traders, however, did expect the market to give them a better indication of how the busy season in 2018 will pan out over the next few weeks to a month.

Panels

OSB activity remained quiet this week, even though spring weather motivated jobsite activity. Buyers waited for prices to drop, uncomfortable with current levels and smelling downside. A few buyers reported scattered quiet discounts from producers.

• Southern Pine plywood producers reported strong sales activity, generating longer lead times and higher rated sheathing prices. Order files at mills extended out as far as May 21, with light volumes available for May 7. The pace picked up Wednesday and continued through Friday morning.


• Mills in the Western Fir plywood market continued to sell enough volumes to maintain sheathing price levels. A slightly improved market over the past couple of weeks managed to give producers a few more days of order file, but any upward lift in CDX pricing has been minimal.


• Canadian plywood activity was mundane this week. There was a feeling among sources that the market is late to kick in, and very little buying occurred at most mills.


• Sales of particleboard and MDF were steady to modestly better, with producers frequently describing markets that changed little from the prior week. Most producers seemed content with order files. Some extra volumes of particleboard remained available.

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