Lumber Prices Hit Six-Month High As Supply Chain Challenges Ramp Up

Lumber futures increased 4.4% to $1,069.30 per 1,000 board feet on Dec. 10—a six-month high on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg reported.

The surge is credited in part to supply chain issues resulting from major flooding in Canada’s westernmost province, where North America sources approximately 14% of its lumber, according to the report.

“It looks like the industry was holding off to buy in January,” analyst Brian Leonard told Bloomberg. “The washout woke everyone up to an under-supplied market. Today the mills are only offering a few [railroad] cars.”

Lumber prices hit a record-high in May at $1,733.50 per 1,000 board feet, but then dropped by more than 70% by August.