Contractors on the West Coast may be scratching their heads, asking why lumber prices are rising when they are falling every where else. The answer is China. The Chinese have more than doubled their purchases of lumber from Canada and the U.S. within the last year, according to industry specialist Random Lengths, Eugene, Ore. That demand drives a price disparity in the Pacific Northwest, especially for spruce products, and prices in the rest of the country.
“Between 2000 and 2009, western spruce 2 X 4 prices averaged about 12% less than our national composite price,” says Robert Berg, an economist with the Bedford, Mass.-based forecasting firm RISI. “It’s now selling at parity to the composite price, which is a 12% premium, and that strength is really tied to the Chinese market.”