In the week between the Canadian Victoria Day long weekend and the US Memorial Day Holiday, construction framing dimension softwood lumber prices stayed mostly flat. Inventories remained low enough that customers agreed to seller list prices for most of their purchases.
The seemingly entrenched habit of not stocking inventory caught up with lumber buyers. More purchases were booked at sawmills, sending prices slightly higher. The lack of supply throughout the market shifted sentiment from a “wait- and-see” approach to more active purchases.
As customers had trouble sourcing the material they needed for ongoing construction projects, they insisted less on making counter-offers and more on taking actual delivery.
KEY COMMENT:
Traders reported marginally better demand for Spruce-Pine-Fir after the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Sales of Southern yellow pine meanwhile continued to languish. (Click here for 2x4 graph.)
In the week ending May 30, 2025, the price of benchmark softwood lumber item Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2x4 #2&Btr KD (RL) was US$450 mfbm. This is up +$6, or +1%, from the previous week when it was $444, said weekly forest products industry price guide newsletter Madison’s Lumber Reporter. That week’s price was up +$4, or +1%, from one month ago when it was $446.
For that same time period, the price of WSPF 2x4 #3/Utility was US$325 mfbm which was flat from the previous week. That week’s price is down -$4, or -1%, from one month ago when it was $329.
As for WSPF 2x6 #3/Utility KD (RL), that price was US$245 mfbm which was flat from the previous week and was down -$17, or -6%, from one month ago when it was $262.
KEY TAKE-AWAYS:
Western-SPF buyers in the US continued to keep their inventories conspicuously lean.
There was a palpable absence of pressure from end-users downstream.
Secondary suppliers maintained thin on-ground stocks as they avoided accumulating too much of any one commodity item.
There was noticeably less material available on Canadian Western-SPF sawmill sales lists.
Eastern-SPF buyers were cautious with their forays, shopping around extensively.
Southern Yellow Pine suppliers worked to track down business, while buyers twiddled their thumbs.
Business in the busy US Northeast was still confined to short-covering.
Purchasers on the US eastern seaboard had let their inventories run so low they
had to step in with new purchases.
https://madisonsreport.com/wp-
content/uploads/2025/06/MadisonsGraph2x6-scaled.png
In the week ending May 30, 2025, the price of Southern Yellow Pine West Side 2x4
#2&Btr KD (RL) was US$416 mfbm. This was down -$20, or -5%, from the previous
week when it was $436.
That week’s price was down -$33, or -7%, from one month ago when it was $449.
As well, for the end of May, SYP West 2x4 #3/Utility KD (RL) was US$360 mfbm, which
was down -$30, or -8%, from the previous week when it was $390 and was down -
$51, or -12%, from one month ago when it was $411.
As for SYP West 2x6 #3/Utility KD (RL), that price was US$250 mfbm, which was down
-$25, or -9%, from the previous week when it was $275 and was down -$50, or -
17%, from one month ago when it was $300.
Due to ongoing soft demand, North American lumber suppliers cut prices further to spur
demand. Customers responded by placing some orders, suggesting they agreed that
current price levels were likely the bottom. The collision of ongoing weak demand and
arrival of spring building season did little to prompt any real increase in sales volumes.
Keta Kosman
Publisher
Madison’s Lumber Reporter, est. 1952
Vancouver, BC, Canada
www.madisonsreport.com
604 319-2266
Lean Inventories Send Lumber Prices Slightly Higher
June 2025
June 2025
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