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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
June 2022
After six straight weeks of decline the lumber market finally found a trading level in mid-June.
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.
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.
| Name | Type | Size | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| STAR Market Report – November 2020 | 1.00 MB | Open | |
| STAR Market Report – October 2020 | 888 KB | Open | |
| STAR Market Report – September 2020 | 1.06 MB | Open | |
| STAR Market Report – August 2020 | 853 KB | Open | |
| STAR Market Report – July 2020 | 689 KB | Open | |
| STAR Market Report – June 2020 | 260 KB | Open | |
| STAR Market Report – May 2020 | 219 KB | Open | |
| STAR Market Report – April 2020 | 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 |