Lumber Futures Hit a Three-Year High

By Ryan Dezember
The Wall Street Journal
August 1, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Lumber futures hit their highest price in three years Friday despite a home-building slump and a lackluster remodeling market. Though wood demand is tepid, traders are pricing in dramatically higher duties on lumber imports from Canada. Lumber futures for September delivery hit $695 per thousand board feet Friday, up 39% from a year ago and the highest price since summer 2022, when the price of two-by-fours was tumbling down from its pandemic surge. November futures are trading even higher, around $710. The US raised its antidumping duty Tuesday to nearly 21% from 7.7%… [and] The Commerce Department said it would impose a higher countervailing duty in the coming days. The combined rate is expected to be around 35%. …”We don’t make a tremendous amount of money on distributing lumber,” Builders FirstSource CEO Peter Jacksons told investors. “We’re not eating a 20-point increase in lumber. It’s not possible. So it will be passed through. The market will adapt.” [to access the full story a WSJ subscription is required]

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