EP 182: The Lumber Market Is Strongly Sideways

The lumber market is moving plenty of volume—but not necessarily going anywhere. This week, Ashley, Gregg and Charles are joined by Bart Charles to break down a market that is strongly sideways. The crew digs into Spruce, Hem-Fir and Southern Yellow Pine, the growing opportunity in forward pricing, tight supply in key items, and why getting aggressively long or short could be a mistake right now.

With futures offering opportunities to lock in Q1 business, limited production keeping a floor under prices, and housing demand still fighting affordability, the question becomes: Where is the next real opportunity in lumber?

Timeline

00:00 Bart Charles joins the show

01:49 Housing, existing-home inventory & demand

04:18 Is the lumber market “strongly sideways”?

06:19 Coastal Hem-Fir vs. Inland pricing

09:52 Breaking down Hem-Fir and Spruce

13:54 Southern Yellow Pine market update

15:13 Diesel prices, trucking & freight costs

17:03 Where does the lumber market go from here?

19:24 Gregg: The market is “sharply sideways”