U.S. softwood and panel markets - 26th week, 2009

Framing lumber prices continued to advance, some sharply, although traders agreed that the gains came on thinner volume than the previous week. Some producers aggressively hiked quotes as they extended order files into July. The Random Lengths Framing Lumber Composite Price gained $12 to $241, its highest level since October. Wholesalers and distributors moved their positions readily, and selectively bought back in. They looked for more evidence that supplies would hold to their current standing against demand.

Prices of structural panels continued to climb as supply-side concerns kept buyers in the market. Order files at OSB and plywood plants often stretched into mid-July. A few OSB producers were a month out, representing their healthiest order files in more than a year. Prices of sheathing gained about $10 for the week. In Southern Pine plywood, producers were more focused on selling July output than on pushing prices higher. Secondaries concentrated on selling recent purchases prior to the holiday week. Sales to Canada and a modest resurgence of industrial business bolstered the western plywood market.