What is making the lumber prices keep rising. The price for a sheet of 7/16 OSB was at $23.85 2 weeks ago and now it sets at $29.15 a sheet. The timber price to make theOSB is around 3 dollars a ton to the land owner, so it sounds like price gouging to me.

Canadian Border has been shut down from Covid.

Supply low, demand high

As a logger it is total BS because the price of the raw wood products we are selling is the same or lower than last winter and supply is at record high level. The Tomahawk WI LP mill stopped buying pulpwood last week until after new year’s because of some stupid excuse to drive there product price up and the pulpwood down. Saw bolt prices are lower than last year 🤬

mills shut down over the holidays every year, but normally have a back stock of product to carry them thru. not this year. low to no inventory means high prices.
demand has been high all year after the original shock was over (covid). OSB goes up just because it can no other reason on that, lots of mills were shut down in the US due to dampanic and cant catch up. it starts with raw material, if loggers arent working the mills cant get material . interest rates at all time low, stock market at all time high, adds to demand on building add in hurricanes that hit the same plants in the south that supply raw vinyl to mfg plants making vinyl siding and windows we end up with 9-12 week lead times on windows we can normally get in 1-2 weeks.
Been in this business for 38 years and have never seen it this bad. i make my living selling building materials and i wouldn't build anything right now.
Tom

Not to imports and exports.

It’s high here too and we have an OSB mill outside the city.

Opportunistic pricing.

Most of our timber producers are in left wing control. Lockdowns on loggers? Why? Lots of covid in the woods? I bet the loggers want to work, truckers want to truck. Yes lockdowns by whackos is your answer. Somewhere someone is getting rich. People who don't need it I bet. LLL

Ever thought that a foreign country owns controlling interest in some of those plants

large tariffs were put on Canadian lumber and were told to roll back by the WTO, so now everybody pays to make up that pay-back money
political move back fired to the common people's pocket book.

You guys just wait till Biden gos in and the green deal gets going. things will get wild then.

This is correct. It has been said by a group in the US that the current administrations tariffs put on to Canadian softwood, which makes up about 28% of the USA’s lumber, will add about 10000 dollars to the average home.

Did China stop operating their lumber ships off the Pacific coast?

Loggers in northern MN around here are plenty busy, but they tell me they are not seeing any uptick in what they are being paid.
I went to a Home Depot the other day and noted those OSB prices. Looking out the back overhead door there were stacked racks of OSB many many racks. There is no “shortage” here that I could see.
The addition I’m putting on on the north place is running me nearly triple it would have last Jan-feb material wise.

Osky

Drive around the Lake in Town and in 30 years I've never seen so many New "Lake homes" going up. AND Cabins of old selling at record prices , then being torn down and Rebuilt into Mc Mansions.

With the prices this high when the correction comes and prices drop who is going to be the looser in this, I guess the ones that are building these new high dollar houses.

Earlier this year, I was told by a lumber place, that it was due to all the hurricanes hitting the south this year? Take it for what it is worth.

Covid shut downs, production down, demand up...

Every poor sucker stuck at home can’t dodge the projects he’s been putting off for the last several years now.

America First trade policies don’t necessarily put the avg American buying lumber first. The Canadian tariffs are hammering you guys in the pocket books.

Ok

That ton of chips has about 750 lbs or less of chips usable for OSB most in the woods chip producers don't make the long chips that go into OSB. The chips made in the woods are probably going to a cogeneration plant for energy. Or to a operation like ours that colors and bags landscape mulch. I know I have been paying very well for Red Pine post logs in 12, 10, 8 and 7 foot length. A week or so ago it seems I remember 1/2 osb here was just over $17.00 4x8 sheet. It may have went up. I will look today.