Lumber Falls to 1-Month Low

2026-04-07 13:28 By Felipe Alarcon 1 min. read

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.



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