As US consumers venture out again, lumber prices are heading back to earth.
Prices for the wood have pulled back sharply from astronomical heights in recent weeks as homeowners have redirected their spending from building decks and replacing flooring to going out to eat, drink and shop after Covid-19 rules were eased in the US.
Lumber prices have plummeted 48 per cent to $875 per thousand board feet from a peak of $1,686 in early May, reflecting a sharper than expected pullback in renovation projects.
“As the economy has opened back up, people are doing less around their homes,” said Chris McIver, senior vice-president of marketing and corporate development at West Fraser, the world’s largest lumber producer. “That was enough to drive prices in the other direction which were too high and unsustainable.”
But Kevin Mason, managing director of ERA Forest Products Research, said media reports of soaring prices had caused…