MAYFAIR MARKET UPDATE

Good Day,

Here is what is happening in commodities this week………

Lumber…….Order files are mid to late March at most mills. Pricing  continues to increase, 2×4 up 15/m at Mid – Week 2×6 & 2×8 up 35/m and 2×10 & 2×12 up 50/m.

Demand has been very good this week so watch for pricing to be up again on print.  US housing #’s out today and they remain strong despite supply challenges, inflation and

the looming bump in interest rates.

Over the last two weeks many yards covered their needs to end of March or Mid – April and will sit back now and see what direction this market takes.

Pricing is reaching a point that buyers are leery of going out to far. Unfortunately our trucking situation has not improved much ( Loads still running 2-4 weeks late) and until it does, don’t expect much downside in this market.

Winter weather in the east and long weekends on both sides of the line will give buyers a chance to assess their positions.

OSB……Mill files are now pushing into April and pricing was up 50/m on 3/8 basis at Mid -week print, watch for another 50/m on print. Strong demand from all markets and a lack of supply mainly due to shipping are the drivers of the OSB market.

Some mills will take scheduled downtime in April which will not help with price points. Interesting to note that we are still 400/m short of the high point of OSB from June/July of last year on print but the cash market is within 125/m of the high point

Can we surpass the highs of last year? Stay tuned.

Plywood…..Mills are OTM and they are trying to get a handle on late shipments, some of which are running 6-8 weeks late.  Order files are roughly early April and pricing has been flat on print as they have  not reported much for sales.

The field is still starved of product and there are big prems applied to distribution wood. Trucking is starting to ease slightly but not enough to have a real effect on supply problems. Given the spread between OSB and Plywood (plywood being less expensive)

buyers would gladly take on loads of plywood but cannot. Would OSB have the run it had if plywood was readily available? Likely not.

There is much to consider when making buying decisions and the variables are unpredictable at best so good luck with the difficult decision you as a buyer will need to make in the weeks and months to come.

Until then happy selling and have great long weekend.