Lumber Climbs on Supply Constraints

Lumber prices rose above $640 per thousand board feet, reaching a one-year high, as wildfires across Western Canada tightened the supply outlook. More than 900 wildfires burned over the weekend, including in British Columbia, Canada's largest lumber-exporting province, where evacuation alerts threatened forestry operations. Adding to supply concerns, President Donald Trump threatened to incorporate wildfire-related costs into existing tariffs of nearly 35% on Canadian lumber. Sawmill capacity also remained constrained as Canadian duties forced production cuts and mill closures, while rising US log exports to China continued to weaken domestic lumber supply chains. Meanwhile, US housing starts jumped 19%, though the increase was driven mainly by multifamily construction rather than the more lumber-intensive single-family homes, limiting demand support.

Lumber increased to 642.50 USD/1000 board feet, the highest since August 2025. Over the past 4 weeks, Lumber gained 0.64%, and in the last 12 months, it decreased 4.18%.

Lumber prices traded around $630 per thousand board feet, after reaching nearly one-year high of $640, as sawmill capacity remained subdued amid changing trade flows. High borrowing and labor costs weighed on the housing market, dampening construction lumber demand as sawmill capacity contracted 6% from a year earlier and production declines. China's reopening to American logs after the removal of pest-control restrictions has redirected more US timber exports toward the Chinese market. In Washington, lawmakers are seeking measures that would encourage processed hardwood lumber exports rather than raw log shipments, arguing that exporting unprocessed timber further weakens domestic supply chains and employment. Meanwhile, Canada is intensifying efforts to have the US remove softwood lumber tariffs, with British Columbia Premier David Eby arguing that cumulative duties have forced mills to curtail production or shut down.