JULY 2022 BUILDING MATERIAL MARKET REFLECTION

Building Material Market Overview

The market found some traction thru July, slowly grinding upward for most of the month. Buyers had a cautious approach, trying to accommodate short term business which remained strong while balancing the unknown of the fall and winter takeaway, as inflation and interest rates continue to climb slowing down sales. US single family starts continue to decline and Canadian starts still trended upwards.

MONTHLY NEW RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION, JUNE 2022

Solving the Housing Crisis Means Building When No One Is Buying – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Canadian housing starts trend higher in June (newswire.ca)

Lumber had a slow steady climb for most of the month posting gains or 5%-10%. It looks like the dynamic volatility we have seen the past two years may have finally run its course. As the month comes to a close there is a definite downward pressure on prices, as mills are listening to modest counters while leaning on order files to carry them into August. Mills continue with summer shutdowns, but it has had little impact on forcing buyers off the fence as most products are easily accessible if needed.

Both OSB and Plywood pricing also continued to climb thru July. OSB posting gains of 8%-10% and Plywood pushing upwards of 15%-18%. It looks like pricing is starting to flatten out on sheets heading into August and with mills heading into maintenance shutdowns they may be able to hold pricing over the short term.

Truss orders remain strong, with welcome price decreases coming with the lumber price correction.

EWP continues to be a challenge. We are hearing and seeing that things are getting better but its just not happening quickly enough.

Finishing products continue to experience the odd challenge mostly due to transportation issues but for the most part supply continues to be good. Talking to manufacturers they expect this to continue moving forward and they are not foreseeing any significant production delay’s

Looking Through the Crystal Ball

Lumber pricing feels soft heading into August, mills are falling back on order files and are trying to find the price level to move current production. As interest rates and inflation continue to rise and new home sales continue to slow down, there is not a lot of positive news as we move into the fall. Some are hoping for the “traditional” fall buy in, it remains to be seen if that will happen.

market? So far it has been minimal.

FRAMING LUMBER

Lumber had a slow and steady grind upward for the month. Softness in the market seeped in as we move into August as mills are riding order files to mid August. Most items were readily available if needed through wholesale / distribution.

OSB

OSB like lumber had a steady upward push in pricing. As the month comes to a close it looks like prices are leveling off. Mill maintenance shutdowns may allow producers to hold prices over the short term.

PLYWOOD

Plywood showed the biggest gains in July. Order files at the mills are mid August shipment. Pricing is also leveling off as we head into August.

JULY 29, 2022 LUMBER MARKET REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Framing lumber lost steam after a five-week upturn.
• Western S-P-F mills required to lower quote as traders have filled the majority of their third-quarter needs.
• The September futures contract was the lowest to date on Thursday before seeing it climb the following day
• Stud sales moderated as buyers lacked urgency to purchase.

JULY 29, 2022 PANEL MARKET REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:

• OSB producers raised quotes slightly as purchasing activity increased.
• Sales to the west slowed as there is an extreme railcar shortage.
• Western sheathing prices continue to increase as buyers purchase conservatively.
• Canadian plywood prices slowed the upward momentum as sheathing sales were muted.

*All Pricing is in CAD