MARKET PLACE

Random Lengths Lumber Market Report
According to Random Lengths, the weekly report on the North American wood products markets, the down drift for wood construction prices continues unabated, with bearing attitudes reinforced with the December housing starts report and more troubling news in the financial markets.

A few more announcements of production curtailment and talk of more to come had a mild firming effect on some framing lumber items. That was the best news traders could cite amid an otherwise continued gloomy trading environment across the U.S. and Canada. Green Fir provided most of the highlights, as the narrows of Std/#2&Btr gained $10-15 and studs posted smaller gains. Recent curtailments weighted toward stud output halted downward pressure on a few other western stud prices or slowed their descent. The Random Lengths Composite Price fell from to $238 / 1,000 board feet, from $243 / 1,000 board feet – its lowest level since 1991.

* The index is a numerical representation of market activity, based on a ratio of western sawmill order files to inventories. In computing the index, the data are compared with similar data averaged over the past five years.

Source: Random Lengths, January 2008, www.randomlengths.com