Lumber Frenzy Drives Up Home Prices as Suppliers Can’t Keep Up
- Inventories are lean heading into peak U.S. building season
- Futures surged more than 60% to record highs this year
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The frenzy sweeping the lumber market will likely keep going through the summer peak of U.S. home building as labor shortages and depleted inventories mean that supplies can’t keep up with skyrocketing demand.
Tightness is acute across the entire timber supply chain. Sawmills have had trouble ramping up fast enough to meet the surge in demand. Meanwhile, trucking delays and worker shortages at lumber yards have added to costs, which are now getting passed on to consumers. Lumber futures have surged more than 60% to record highs this year, and analysts aren’t expecting any relief until late 2021.