RISI Crow's Market Recap
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 slowdown in SPF trading beginning late the week prior extended throughout this week. This prompted producers to approach pricing less aggressively, despite strong order files sometimes extending into the second week of March. Liquidity at the wholesale level remained good at prices below mill quotes. Southern Pine prices remained on an upward trajectory despite a slower sales pace than previous weeks. Solid mill order files extending two to three weeks prompted producers to push prices again higher, albeit often not as much as the week prior. Coastal species pricing continued to move higher, but increases were more moderate than prior weeks. Weather conditions throughout the US hampered sales activity. Inland species markets show all the inconsistency of an early-season affair. Last week’s torrid pace was replaced by a much “slower and quieter” attitude. Although often less strident than in prior weeks, many stud prices continued to move higher. Buyers experienced limited offerings of Coastal species, which prompted higher pricing. Industrial Ponderosa Pine market changes did not include either demand or prices of Mldg&Btr or Shop. Ponderosa Pine Selects and Commons are caught in weather patterns in both the producing region and across the northern tier of states to forestall the market. Western Red Cedar buyers continued to fill in inventories where necessary without purchasing excess volumes. Producers reported selling mixed loads of a variety of items.
A price index of lumber and panels used in actual construction for Feb. 15, 2019.
Western: regional species perimeter foundation
Southern: regional species slab construction
Panels: OSB markets quieted this week, mostly on account of rain, snow, and ice throughout the US and Canada. Markets lacked urgency. Order files run from the week of February 18 to the end of March. Southern Pine plywood continued to trade at a pace moderately greater than or equal to production. This allowed producers to again extend order files and bump prices moderately higher. Western Fir plywood producers continued to search for enough sales to rid themselves of the week’s production. Order files remained short compared to producers’ counterparts in the Southeast, with volumes available for the week of February 18. Coast-to-coast harsh winter weather limited Canadian plywood activity. Inventories are thin in the field, but order files were unchanged and moving closer in. Producers of both particleboard and MDF reported little change in sales – some reporting a little better sales and others not so much.
Lumber: The slowdown in SPF trading beginning late the week prior extended throughout this week. This prompted producers to approach pricing less aggressively, despite strong order files sometimes extending into the second week of March. Liquidity at the wholesale level remained good at prices below mill quotes. Southern Pine prices remained on an upward trajectory despite a slower sales pace than previous weeks. Solid mill order files extending two to three weeks prompted producers to push prices again higher, albeit often not as much as the week prior. Coastal species pricing continued to move higher, but increases were more moderate than prior weeks. Weather conditions throughout the US hampered sales activity. Inland species markets show all the inconsistency of an early-season affair. Last week’s torrid pace was replaced by a much “slower and quieter” attitude. Although often less strident than in prior weeks, many stud prices continued to move higher. Buyers experienced limited offerings of Coastal species, which prompted higher pricing. Industrial Ponderosa Pine market changes did not include either demand or prices of Mldg&Btr or Shop. Ponderosa Pine Selects and Commons are caught in weather patterns in both the producing region and across the northern tier of states to forestall the market. Western Red Cedar buyers continued to fill in inventories where necessary without purchasing excess volumes. Producers reported selling mixed loads of a variety of items.
A price index of lumber and panels used in actual construction for Feb. 15, 2019.
Western: regional species perimeter foundation
Southern: regional species slab construction
Panels: OSB markets quieted this week, mostly on account of rain, snow, and ice throughout the US and Canada. Markets lacked urgency. Order files run from the week of February 18 to the end of March. Southern Pine plywood continued to trade at a pace moderately greater than or equal to production. This allowed producers to again extend order files and bump prices moderately higher. Western Fir plywood producers continued to search for enough sales to rid themselves of the week’s production. Order files remained short compared to producers’ counterparts in the Southeast, with volumes available for the week of February 18. Coast-to-coast harsh winter weather limited Canadian plywood activity. Inventories are thin in the field, but order files were unchanged and moving closer in. Producers of both particleboard and MDF reported little change in sales – some reporting a little better sales and others not so much.