In the US softwood lumber market, the price of the benchmark range SPF 2x4 #2&Btr ex mill fell by 15.8% to US$442/1,000 bdft by mid-September compared with the end of July. Compared to the all-time high reached at the beginning of June, the price determined by Random Lengths was 32.5% lower. This represents an increase of 6.3% compared with the previous year.
The quotation for the Framing Lumber Composite Price (FLCP) of US$441/1,000 bdft fell short of the July figure by 10.2%. However, the previous year's figure was exceeded by 4.8%.
Random Lengths estimates that, as in previous months, customers had held back on purchases until mid-September due to a sufficient supply. High inventories in the sawmills and lower order ranges have led to suppliers continuing to grant customers discounts in order to keep the outflow of finished goods moving. Timber traders have used the recent price reductions on a number of occasions to replenish inventories.