2018 Lumber Prices

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CrealBilly

New User
Jeff
I went to the local Borg last night and about fell over when I seen the price of lumber.

Example - regular old crappy SPF 2x4-8' $3.45

FYI... If you go to buy lumber make sure you bring a lubricant with you - your gonna need it.
 

TENdriver

New User
TENdriver
Jeff, I thought it was just me. I walked past the Borg lumber section at Christmas and did a big double take when I noticed the price increases.

I can’t wait to hear the lumber industry’s spin on why prices took such a large bump.
 

Jerry C

Jerry
Senior User
Chinese competition?? Don't think so!
The US has put a tarrif on Canadian Lumber......I think about 20%. Canadian lumber mills get government timber at a discount while US mills mostly buy on the open market from private owners.
 

Opensightryan

New User
Ryan
Something like 4 years ago while I was building my house 7/16 osb was right at $6 a sheet. Now it's around $12 but late last year it was over $16. I'm 33 and I already talk about how expensive things have gotten, back in my day you could afford to build something.
 

Gotcha6

Dennis
Staff member
Corporate Member
In case no one noticed, residential housing starts are on the rise. Houston and Puerto Rico, not to mention the wildfires in CA also factor in. Fires in the Pacific Northwest also put a strain on the supply side. Don't expect any relief anytime soon. I've even used spruce (and good quality stuff) from Germany lately.
 

ScottM

Scott
Staff member
Corporate Member
Maybe it is all in Houston and Puerto Rico?

I think there is a lot of truth in this. I was putting on an addition to my house in NY back in 1992 when Andrew hit South Florida. Almost over night the price of plywood doubled and it was in short supply as the retailers could not get stock.
 

Endless Pursuit

New User
Jeff
Per a friend of mine who's in the sales end of the wholesale business (he talks Millions of Bd Ft/order) demand for framing lumber is up 30% across the board and 200% in some regions. The mills are running wide open and old one's that were mothballed are being brought back online.

Hardwood hasn't been hit yet but the framing comes first and then the finish carpentry so if you're contemplating a major hardwood buy, get it now.
 

petebucy4638

Pete
Corporate Member
The economy is booming and so is the construction business. It's that old supply and demand thing again! <g> Building material are up across the board.

Pete

I went to the local Borg last night and about fell over when I seen the price of lumber.

Example - regular old crappy SPF 2x4-8' $3.45

FYI... If you go to buy lumber make sure you bring a lubricant with you - your gonna need it.
 

sawman101

Bruce Swanson
Corporate Member
There is another aspect or factor, the effect the environmentalists have on the supply of timber to the mills. I know they brought enough pressure on the government to make millions of acres of timber off limits in the NW portion of the country.
 

Pop Golden

New User
Pop
The US has put a tariff on Canadian Lumber

There is another aspect or factor, the effect the environmentalists have on the supply of timber to the mills. I know they brought enough pressure on the government to make millions of acres of timber off limits in the NW portion of the country.

As things move forward we have to settle for less and less quality, and to get good quality we have to pay a fortune. I remember a statement I read several years ago that went something like this: There will come a time when we will be SO SO happy to get a good old sheet of OSB while looking back to the good old days when we could remember getting a "quality" sheet of C/D plywood. Price goes up - quality goes down.

Those tariffs and
environmentalists along with the stupid idea of stopping the shipment of so called endangered species of wood. (when will somebody figure out the folks cutting down the Amazon rain forest aren't in the lumber business. They are in the farming or ranching business the wood is just extra money.) I remember a few years ago seeing a photo of several thousand bf of Brazilian mahogany logs floating in the Amazon. Why are they there? They are cut and going to waste because the
[FONT=&quot]environmentalists have stopped the shipping. These things are [/FONT]costing we woodworkers a lot of extra money.

Pop
:rolleyes:
 
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Phil S

Phil Soper
Staff member
Corporate Member
Just got to keep looking for deals

Real mahogany was free in downtown Raleigh today
 
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