Lumber prices remain flat through the start of 2025 amid uncertainty

Trends in many framing lumber markets were unchanged amid persistent uncertainty regarding tariffs and frigid temperatures across much of the US.

The presidential inauguration and Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday served as further distractions. Western Canadian producers sold cautiously while awaiting clarity on potential tariffs. Buyers had few immediate needs and were content operating with lean inventories despite the threat of volatility. Prices were little changed in overall dull trading.

Lumber futures tracked a similar course in terms of interest, but downside was evident as the large premium in the front month eroded. The board fell each day week to date.

Meanwhile, subfreezing temperatures across the South and historic snowstorms along the Gulf Coast brought Southern Pine trading to a near standstill. Traders operated with widely diverse views of whether President Trump’s threats of tariffs of up to 25% on Canadian imports as early as February 1 will actually become a reality.

The frigid conditions forced mills and treating plants to close or run at sharply reduced rates. Insurance purchases ahead of the potential tariffs were minimal to non-existent.

Concern about interest rates, and their potential impact on housing demand, was an underlying theme prompting a cautious approach to the market. In the Inland market, most traders reported a quiet week. Mills with particular items to sell were more open to counters. 2×12 remained under the most downward price pressure.

In industrial lumber, Mldg&Btr remained susceptible to discounts, some of them as much as triple digits. Meanwhile, P.99 was sold at higher prices. Upper grades of shop held steady despite limited sales.

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