New Year - New Prices

Commodity prices continued to climb over the holidays. Last week OSB prices lead the way, with double digit gains. SPF dimension and studs moved higher and SYP 2x10 and 2x12 were up double digits as well.

So where do we go from here? Some say we are headed to new highs due to demand and others think the mills will over produce the market by spring. The weather will control demand for the next few months, so once again, no one knows for sure.

What we do know is, that this has been a demand driven market for more than a year and it does not look like that is going to change in the short term. Most lumber and panel mills have strong order files that stretch into February. That is very bullish for this time of year. That puts mills in control for now. The other thing we know for sure is, that there is still a lot of lumber and panels that need to be bought for projects that are going to start in the 1st quarter. Business is good all over the country and it does not look like that’s going to change.

Moral of the story? If you have it sold, you buy it.