Lumber Defies Usual December Lull
Post date
December 21, 2020
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By Marcy Nicholson, Bloomberg
Lumber prices typically hit a lull in December, but not this year as lean inventories and strong building demand force buyers to pay up.
Prices have been buoyed by unexpected demand from home renovations and building as people invested in their houses during the pandemic lockdowns.
Lumber futures are typically lower in December, when building projects usually slow down during the colder months. The unprecedented off-season rally signals that demand could continue to outpace supplies at least though early 2021, as milder-than-normal weather enables more building than usual and mills are faced with the possibility of pandemic-related production slowdowns.