Read the latest STAR Market Reports

Our Purchasing Manager, Jason Poloway, keeps his ear to the ground collecting the latest information on building material pricing, supply availability, and ongoing market trends. Each month, this information is assembled into a comprehensive report, designed to give you the upper hand in your purchasing decisions.

SEPTEMBER 2025

The Western SPF lumber market continued to search for a trading level through September.

AUGUST 2025

The North American lumber market remains strained as Canadian mills maintain elevated prices following a 34% duty hike, while U.S. buyers hesitate to engage.

JULY 2025

While U.S. tariffs remain a dominant headline, recent developments have shifted attention to the Canadian–U.S. Softwood Lumber Agreement.

JUNE 2025

The Western SPF (Spruce-Pine-Fir) lumber market in June was characterized by stabilizing prices, cautious demand, and tight supply management.

May 2025

Western SPF lumber found stable trading levels in May, enabling mills to clear most prompt offerings and build an order file. As the month progressed, market firmness was reinforced by the threat of forest fires in Western Canada and the announced shutdowns of the Arbec mills in Quebec. Meanwhile, OSB continues to search for a consistent trading level.

April 2025

Business on both sides of the border remains sluggish due to economic uncertainties and tariffs. Buyers are cautious, purchasing only as needed, and are benefiting from the prompt availability of supplies from both mills and distribution channels.

March 2025

A cautious tone permeated the Western S-P-F market through March as buyers covered only what they needed.

February 2025

Markets remained uncertain throughout February with ongoing extensions to the incoming tariffs, though Western S-P-F mills extended order files for U.S. business while they could still ship across the border without penalty.

January 2025

As the discussion around potential tariffs took center stage in January, companies were allowed some time to develop strategies before the 30-day grace period ends.

November 2024

The Western SPF commodity markets remained robust throughout November, achieving double-digit gains across nearly all categories.

October 2024

Lumber, plywood and OSB all found significant traction, seeing prices move up and supply tighten heading into the winter months.

September 2024

The commodity markets remained stagnant for September as buyers reverted to buy as needed mode.

August 2024

The market continued to push higher through August, as buyers worked to cover both immediate and upcoming fall requirements.

July 2024

A strong 2-3 week run of business brought a positive tone to the market, one that has not been felt in months.

June 2024

With supply readily available buyers continue to stay with the “buy as needed” approach avoiding taking a longer inventory position.

May 2024

The market persisted in its stagnant trend through May. OSB and plywood both saw a little bounce in pricing heading into June.

April 2024

The market remained flat for much of April as buyers stayed on the sideline and mills held on hoping for a spring buy.

March 2024

Mills are remaining firm on pricing, positioning themselves for an expected buy in as we move deeper into spring and better weather.

February 2024

February showcased a resilient market, maintaining stability despite minor fluctuations in select sectors.

January 2024

A blast of winter covering most of North America continued to put a damper on activity.

December 2023

In December, the building materials markets remained relatively stagnant as buyers watched from the sidelines, making purchases only as needed, while mills held prices, relying on their existing order files.

November 2023

The month started on a better footing, and we saw prices rally across the board.

October 2023

Despite a stronger than expected U.S. Housing report, October saw a slow grind downward in commodity prices, Mills dug their heels in only looking at small counters to move items that were building up.

September 2023

Following a round of buying in late August, the market in September faced downward pressure on most items.

August 2023

August began with the same sluggish tone July finished on.

July 2023

The strong market conditions we saw in June continued into the first two weeks of July.

June 2023

A perfect storm of forest fires, mill curtailments, and a positive U.S. housing report turned the market 180 degrees and gave it the momentum it has been searching for, for months.

May 2023

If we had to sum up the commodity market for May in one word, it would be “Apathetic.”

April 2023

Despite mills and buyers hopes for a significant spring buy in, the tone of the market in April was somber.

March 2023

The March market saw continued downward pressure across all lumber items for the first 2 weeks.

February 2023

There was little follow through to the late January buy in we saw.

January 2023

January began with its traditional slow start, as many shook off the holiday season cobwebs.

December 2022

The lackluster feel continued through December, which is to be expected given the lead-up to the holiday season.

November 2022

The November market in a word was lackluster. We saw some buying done before the U.S. Thanksgiving weekend…

October 2022

The market in October was a bit confusing. The fall push we typically see magnified as builders…

September 2022

As September comes to a close, we find ourselves in a market cycle very similar to last month.

August 2022

The commodity markets saw a slow but steady grind downward in pricing through the month of August.

July 2022

The market found some traction thru July, slowly grinding upward for most of the month.

June 2022

After six straight weeks of decline the lumber market finally found a trading level in mid-June.

May 2022

May was a month of corrections in the markets.

April 2022

As the Easter weekend approached the tone in the market was quite bearish as the price correction continued in lumber and OSB.

March 2022

March was a month that saw many factors impact market direction in both positive and negative ways.

February 2022

Transportation issues continue to be the theme across North America.

January 2022

There doesn’t seem to be a product line that was not affected by the transportation crunch being felt throughout North America to begin 2022.

December 2021

The lumber market continued its upward momentum through December jumping triple digits on all items…

November 2021

November proved to be a volatile month in the lumber market. The first two weeks of the month saw the market on a steady decline, but…

October 2021

October saw lumber show significant gains, but it finished with a cautious tone amid speculation the market may have been inflated…

September 2021

September saw lumber and sheet goods find its bottom and start to slowly gain some traction, giving some optimism to the market.

August 2021

The market correction in lumber, OSB, and Plywood continued through August. As the month comes to a close it looks like a bottom may have been found.

July 2021

Lumber prices continued to erode throughout July, finally hitting a bottom towards the end of the month…

June 2021

June brought the price correction in lumber that everyone was waiting for, and it was in record-breaking fashion…

May 2021

The month of May came in like a lion but went out like a lamb. There was a lot of speculation towards the end of May that pricing on lumber had peaked…

April 2021

Trying to wrap your head around these current market conditions is almost impossible. The month of April brought continued record-high prices…

March 2021

For the majority of March, we saw an old-fashioned stand-off on pricing. The market remained flat, and buyers hoped for a much-anticipated…

Name Type Size Link
STAR Market Report – November 2020 PDF 1.00 MB Open
STAR Market Report – October 2020 PDF 888 KB Open
STAR Market Report – September 2020 PDF 1.06 MB Open
STAR Market Report – August 2020 PDF 853 KB Open
STAR Market Report – July 2020 PDF 689 KB Open
STAR Market Report – June 2020 PDF 260 KB Open
STAR Market Report – May 2020 PDF 219 KB Open
STAR Market Report – April 2020 PDF 714 KB Open
STAR Market Report – November 2020
STAR Market Report – October 2020
STAR Market Report – September 2020
STAR Market Report – August 2020
STAR Market Report – July 2020
STAR Market Report – June 2020
STAR Market Report – May 2020
STAR Market Report – April 2020