MAY 2025 BUILDING MATERIAL MARKET REFLECTION

Building Material Market Overview

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.

Canada Housing Starts

New Residential Construction Press Release

Western SPF lumber found a stable trading level enabling mills to firm up pricing with mill shutdown announcements in Quebec and forest fires in Western Canada.

OSB prices continue to be soft as it tries to find a trading level. It feels like its close to a bottom and liquidity remains decent at both the mill and distribution levels.

Plywood found its trading level with mills able to establish an order file and firm up price levels.

EWP remains steady in both supply and pricing. Some mills continue to be impacted by Canadian Tariffs on U.S. products.

Building Materials: We continue to see price increases on many products affected by the tariffs.

Looking Through the Crystal Ball

As we adjust to the new landscape shaped by tariffs, economic uncertainty continues to weigh heavily on both Canada and the United States. This has led to a noticeable slowdown in the housing market, with many projects facing delays as buyers and builders await more positive economic signals.

While markets have found a level of stability and established a trading range, buyer sentiment remains cautious. Few are willing to take significant inventory positions, and there is limited confidence that demand alone will drive the market forward under current economic headwinds.

The primary concern now centers on supply, particularly as we approach the anticipated increase in lumber duties. These hikes could severely impact Canadian sawmills, potentially leading to supply disruptions through late summer and into the fall. There are already reports of mills scaling back logging operations due to the uncertainty surrounding market conditions and the looming duties.

FRAMING LUMBER

OSB

OSB prices continue to be soft as it tries to find a trading level. It feels like it’s close to a bottom and liquidity remains decent at both the mill and distribution levels.

PLYWOOD

Plywood found its trading level with mills able to establish an order file and firm up price levels.

MAY 30, 2025 LUMBER MARKET REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Framing lumber felt the effect of uncertainty in the market as demand remained underwhelming, and
  supply tightened moderately.
• Western S-P-F sales remained stable but uninspiring during the holiday-shortened week in the U.S., with
  some item shortages allowing mills to raise prices slightly.
• Lumber Futures declined early in the week due to more sellers than buyers but rebounded later. The July
  contract traded higher than the cash market, while overall trading and open interest increased.
• Stud lumber prices varied by species with some increases and decreases. Overall sales remained quiet
  and largely unchanged.

MAY 30, 2025 PANEL MARKET REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:

• OSB saw weak demand and low market confidence, hindering OSB trading across North America.
• Prices fell slightly despite reduced output at mills and minimal sales activity.
• Western plywood saw quotes increase slightly in some areas, maintaining last week’s momentum,
  while overall prices stayed mostly stable and mills were cautious with discounts.
• Canadian plywood trading remained slow due to weak demand, especially in the East, while the West
  showed slightly stronger activity.

*All Pricing is in CAD