Lumber prices climb in June

The past month has seen a spike in lumber prices, partly driven by uncertainty stemming from wildfires in Canada. At the same time, strong U.S. housing starts have driven up demand. Cash prices are up 22 percent from where they were on June 1. Last week, they reached US$420 per 1,000 board feet of Western spruce, pine, and fir (SPF) two-by-fours, according to a report by Fastmarkets. That was up from $343 on June 1 but 74 percent below May 2021’s record high of $1,630.