Lumber futures traded around $570 per thousand board feet, near a one-month low as the combination of high interest rates and falling home construction has crushed demand faster than sawmills can reduce supply. This downward pressure is driven by a 14.2% collapse in single-family housing starts and a 5.4% decline in building permits that signaled an abrupt cooling of spring activity. While ongoing sawmill closures have removed 1.3 billion board feet of capacity and US duties on Canadian imports remain at 45% these supply factors are failing to support prices against a sharp loss of buyers. The recent surge in mortgage rates to 6.46% has stifled traffic and left builders managing a 2.4% increase in unsold inventory that necessitates immediate price cuts. Furthermore the April 2nd announcement of C$2.1 billion in Canadian forestry subsidies has introduced expectations of more wood availability that offsets the risks of shipping delays through the Strait of Hormuz.
Lumber traded flat at 583.50 USD/1000 board feet on April 23, 2026. Over the past month, Lumber's price has fallen 0.34%, but it is still 1.21% higher than a year ago, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Historically, Lumber reached an all time high of 1711.20 in May of 2021. Lumber - data, forecasts, historical chart - was last updated on April 24 of 2026.
Lumber traded flat at 583.50 USD/1000 board feet on April 23, 2026. Over the past month, Lumber's price has fallen 0.34%, but it is still 1.21% higher than a year ago, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Lumber is expected to trade at 596.11 USD/1000 board feet by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate it to trade at 642.00 in 12 months time.