Lumber producers in western Canada ran out of 2x6 dimensions and had short supply of 2x4 Utility grades this week as customers brought serious attitude to the table in advance of the double national holidays across North America next week, writes Keta Kosman in Madison’s Lumber Reporter
https://madisonsreport.com/
Prices of many kiln-dried framing lumber commodities bounced back to levels held through most of May. Meanwhile, Southern Yellow Pine prices, having already experienced a significant run-up this season, softened slightly this week.
Field inventories remain weak as lumber currently in production is already sold. Sawmill order files continued at three weeks-plus, to July 21 for Canadian manufacturers this week.
Prices of specialty products like studs and green Douglas fir also popped, indicating real demand driven by immediate needs of end users. Sales within and into the US were brisk, while large offshore bookings recurred with some regularity.
For studs on the west side, again 2x6 was the hottest item of the bunch. This dimension is used most often for condominium and multi-family building projects, which are more volatile than single-family.
Prices of benchmark dimension lumber commodity Western Spruce-Pine-Fir KD 2x4 #2&Btr rebounded to US$346 mfbm (net FOB mill), the level held through May. This is a $22, or 6.4 per cent, improvement over last week and a $52, or 15 per cent, rise over one year ago’s US$294 mfbm.
Lumber production by Canadian sawmills increased 1.4 per cent in April from March, to 5,255.9 thousand cubic metres, according to Statistics Canada Friday. Compared with April 2013, lumber production declined by 2.9 per cent. Canada’s sawmills shipped 4,970.2 thousand cubic metres of lumber in April, up 13.4 per cent from March.
In company news this week,
Mercer International Inc. (
TSX: T.MRI.U,
Stock Forum) and
Resolute Forest Products Inc. (
TSX: T.RFP,
Stock Forum) Monday announced a new joint venture company — Performance BioFilaments — focused on the development of commercial applications for cellulose filaments, one of the world's most exciting new biomaterials.
Cellulose filaments have unique performance-enhancing properties with significant potential to improve a wide array of consumer and industrial products.
Performance BioFilaments' cellulose filaments are made from wood pulp, processed using a proprietary technology licensed from FPInnovations, one of Canada's leading research organizations working in forest products research and development. The resulting cellulose filaments have exceptional strength and purity, with an extraordinarily high aspect ratio that is unique when compared to all other high-value, cellulose-based biomaterials.
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Keta Kosman
Publisher
Madison's Lumber Reporter
604 984-6838
www.madisonsreport.com