Lumber Climbs on Supply Constraints

2026-07-21 14:16 By Larissa Caser 1 min. read

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.



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