Wintry weather spreading across a wide swath of the U.S. and Canada, as well as the approaching holidays, put trading of framing lumber on ice. Prices flattened or finished narrowly mixed. While many mills were able to fall back on order files into late December or early January, some were still looking to clean out yards and sheds before year-end. To do so, producers often had to open to counters, and come close to meeting buyers’ specified tallies to win orders.
| Week Dec 16 |
Week Dec 9 |
Year Ago 2015 |
|
| Random Lengths Framing Lumber Composite Price* | $360 | $359 | $314 |
| KD Western S-P-F #2&Btr 2×4 R/L Mill Price | 322 | 324 | 269 |
| KD Eastern S-P-F #1&2 2×4 R/L, delivered Great Lakes | 408 | 406 | 362 |
| Green Douglas Fir Std&Btr 2×4 R/L (Portland) | 345 | 342 | 290 |
| Southern Pine (Westside) #2 2×4 R/L | 435 | 437 | 401 |
| KD Coast Hem-Fir #2&Btr 2×4 R/L | 347 | 347 | 305 |
| Ponderosa Pine (Inland) #2&Btr 1×12 R/L | 615 | 620 | 660 |
| * Weighted average of 15 key items | |||
Random Lengths Panel Market Report
The pace of structural panel trading faded as the holidays approached. OSB sales slowed across North America, but prices maintained an upward bias in most regions. The exceptions were the North Central region and Eastern Canada. Southern Pine plywood trading slowed in anticipation of the holidays, but overall activity was steady. A few mills offered discounts on some items earlier in the week. Western Fir plywood trading was measured. Mills ended the week with order files into the weeks of January 2 and 9.
| (f.o.b. mill prices) | This Week Dec 16 |
Last Week Dec 9 |
Year Ago 2015 |
| Random Lengths Structural Panel Composite Price* | $368 | $366 | $356 |
| Southern (west-east) 15/32-inch 3-ply rated sheathing plywood | 345-380 | 348-380 | 360-395 |
| Southern (west-east) 15/32-inch 4-ply rated sheathing plywood | 345-385 | 348-385 | 373-405 |
| Western 1/2-inch 4-ply rated sheathing plywood | 368 | 360 | 336 |
| North Central 7/16-inch Oriented Strand Board | 282 | 282 | 233 |
| *Weighted average of 11 key items | |||