As Forest Industry Folks Returned To Their Desks Following The Respective
Canadian And Us May Long Weekends, Sentiment Remained Cautious.
The ongoing practice of hand-to-mouth business continued. Customers saw no
reason to stock lumber inventory, placing orders for only the wood they knew
they had immediate needs for.
In view of that, suppliers kept manufacturing volumes lower to stay in line
with this soft demand. In addition to the usual seasonal issues in
transportation, specifically in sourcing trucks and rail cars, was sharply
increasing fuel surcharges. Freight rates have ballooned significantly in
the past couple of months,
putting even greater pressure on costs for sawmills and other forest
operators. In total, there was general apathy and lack of urgency among
buyers which is unusual for this time of year.
In the week ending May 29, 2026, the price of benchmark softwood lumber item
Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2×4 #2&Btr KD (RL) was US$490 mfbm.
This was flat from the previous week, said weekly forest products industry
price guide newsletter Madison’s Lumber Reporter.
That week’s price was flat from one month ago.
Compared To The Same Week Last Year, When It Was Us$450 Mfbm, The Price Of
Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2×4 #2&Btr Kd (Rl) For The Week Ending May 29, 2026
Was Up +$40, Or +9%.
Compared To Two Years Ago When It Was $384, That Week’S Price Was Up +$106,
Or +28%.
The strength of business was noticeably fragmented by region, species,
and category.
KEY TAKE-AWAYS:
Buyers of Western-SPF in the US remained focussed on hand-to-mouth business
on lacklustre downstream demand.
Western-SPF sawmills in Canada held enough supply to satisfy current demand
levels.
There were a few pockets of challenging availability, with tighter supply in
wider widths or straight lengths.
Sawmill order files in the West were only into the first or second week of
June.
There was general apathy and lack of urgency among buyers of Eastern-SPF
which is unusual for this time of year.
Persistently high, and rising, costs of freight further reduced suppliers’
margins.
Southern Yellow Pine prices still settled on either side of the previous
week’s levels.
Discounted SYP material thinned out dramatically as buyers had stepped in to
shore up their depleted inventories.
Eastern Stocking Wholesalers reported month-end machinations contributed to
hesitation on the part of buyers.
MADISON’S BENCHMARK TOP-SIX SOFTWOOD LUMBER AND PANEL PRICES: MONTHLY
AVERAGES
Source: madisonsreport.com
More Reports:
