APRIL 2021 BUILDING MATERIAL MARKET REFLECTION

Trying to wrap your head around these current market conditions is almost impossible. The month of April brought continued record-high prices across all product lines that, combined with tight availability of material, lack of viable alternatives and continued vital consumer takeaways, it is a perfect storm. With many supplier order files now into June or longer, there is no relief in sight.

FRAMING LUMBER

The strong finish we saw in March continued to gain momentum through April. That momentum combined with limited mill offerings and extended order files has left purchasers bewildered and coping with price fatigue. With prices going up to $100/M per week the last two weeks of April and mills already quoting June delivery on most products, we can expect pricing to continue to rise in May, at what pace is anybody’s guess.

OSB

OSB continues to be one of the most challenging products in the market, with availability almost nonexistent through April. As the month wore on, the market saw offerings in the $80.00 plus per sheet range for 3/8” material. This pricing surge caused a significant shift by many to plywood and drywall as substitutes to combat the lack of supply and record-high prices. All OSB mills look to be back up and running as we enter May. It will be interesting to see the impact this has on the market going forward.

PLYWOOD

There continues to be a discount in pricing between plywood and OSB. It is becoming more challenging to capitalize on plywood as a substitute as mill order files are now showing August delivery, making the availability of prompt wood almost nonexistent. With strong demand and tight supply, expect that trend to continue.

ENGINEERED WOOD PRODUCTS

Truss/EWP products have continued to follow the same trends as seen in March; with 2×4 pricing continuing upward, truss producers have no choice but to consider price increases soon. The supply of EWP remains tight, and many manufacturers are dealing with issues causing backorders within the very delicate supply chain. Expect this issue to continue for the foreseeable future as manufacturing struggles to catch up to strong demand.

Truss hanger and plates are still behind in production, as manufacturers can not keep up with demand, resulting in late delivery. As the price of steel continues to increase, expect prices to climb on truss hangers and plates as well.

FINISHING PRODUCTS

The MDF nightmare continues, with raw material supply issues being the source of the problem. Manufacturing facilities are forced to scale back production because they don’t have enough raw material to operate at full capacity. This issue puts production behind sales approximately 3-4months due to the lack of raw material supply. Mouldings and door casing availability will continue to be impacted by this going forward.

MAY 1, 2021 LUMBER MARKET REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Framing lumber prices pushed higher into record-breaking territory.
• Tight supplies and a lack of options generated traders to submit to high costs in fear of running out of supply.
• Many traders were nervous this week as they contemplated what the downside of the run might look like in the future.
• Thankfully, mills were in control with order files extending into late May and early June.

MAY 1, 2021 PANEL MARKET REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Prices continued to get strength in the structural panel markets as demand surpassed supply by a large margin.
• Substantial price increases among a largely undersupplied market continued to affect OSB.
• Low supplies of Southern Pine-rated sheathing and specialty panels maintained sharp increases in pricing that were difficult to digest for traders.
• Pressure from a lack of structural panel supplies in the supply chain caused western Fir plywood prices to increase.
• Plywood producers in Canada sold at a steady pace adding pressure to the price increases.

*All Pricing is in CAD