Market Recap: RISI Crow's Construction Materials Cost Index
A price index of lumber and panels used in actual construction for March 27, 2015
*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: Trading in the SPF market was more active. The increase in demand enabled mills to get rid of floor stocks and firm quotes or establish an order file and bump prices moderately higher. Word of a significant order intended for China on Tuesday and an up-limit move in futures prompted more buyers to enter the market. Southern Pine lumber traded at a considerably better pace. Log supply issues contributed to upward price momentum. Takeaways from yards improved. Prices adjusted little in Coastal species. Buyers were skeptical of market strength and the ability of prices to increase in the near-term. An inconsistent week of sales proved insufficient to offer Inland mills anything more than the comment, “We are still looking for orders.” Weather problems were exacerbated by the volumes of lumber being exported by Canada. After stud price discounts dried up the week prior, several prices made modest to moderate gains or held firmly this week. Radiata Pine is in a state of flux with regard to supply and, hence, in price. Price ranges are common. Ponderosa Pine #2 Shop price is stable. All low grades are abundant and available for various degrees of discount. Ponderosa Pine #2 Common seems to be waiting for definitive action from some of the big box stores. Decisions regarding volume and destination are being bantered among potential buyers and their suppliers. Idaho White Pine shows some downward adjustment in Sterling; Eastern White Pine remains stable, with prices fixed on the reality of little open market wood being available. Most Western Red Cedar producers experienced some degree of improvement in sales activity. With April quickly approaching, customers seemed more amiable to at least discussing the possibility of purchasing addition volumes.
Panels: The OSB pipeline is full of wood, and pricing continues to erode. Mills are pushing back hard against further concession, as prices dropped below break-even levels for some producers. It is a common sentiment that there is still an overhanging need for significant downtime. Southern Pine plywood producers moved order files into the week of April 6, but it took lower rated sheathing prices to do so in some cases. Other producers chose to stack volumes instead of negotiating a price. Others sold a week’s production without lowering their prices. Sporadic activity in the Western Fir plywood market pushed mill order files out into the week of April 13, although some quicker shipping volumes remained available. Producers were willing to give a little ground in the way of pricing for quicker shipping volumes in order to maintain some cushion. Order files for Canadian plywood continued thinning this week, with plenty of volumes available for prompt or next week. Some deep price cuts were made to stimulate activity. Demand for particleboard remained strong, particularly in the East. Where MDF sales activity increased, the uptick was only moderate.
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