NASHVILLE, TN – North American lumber prices enter November under renewed pressure. Madison’s Lumber Prices Index ended last week at $459 per thousand board feet, down 7% from the previous week and 8% from a month earlier. Buyers remain cautious, with just-in-time purchasing and the normal seasonal slowdown limiting demand.
Housing remains a major headwind. September U.S. housing starts fell 5.2% from August and 7.4% from a year earlier to a 1.221 million annual rate. Single-family starts fell to 859,000, while single-family permits declined 4% for the month.
In the South, third-quarter pine sawtimber averaged just under $24 per ton, up 2% from the previous quarter but still 5% below last year. Pine chip-n-saw averaged $16.50, down 8% from a year earlier. Pine pulpwood remained the weakest category at just over $5 per ton, marking a seventh consecutive quarterly decline. Prices vary sharply by local wood basket, with pine sawtimber ranging from roughly $16-$19 per ton in parts of Tennessee and Virginia to more than $30 in Florida and western North Carolina.
In the Pacific Northwest, recent Oregon state timber-sale results show continued demand for Douglas-fir. An October 23 Forest Grove sale drew a winning Douglas-fir bid of about $588 per thousand board feet, although individual timber-sale bids should not be treated as regional averages.
Northeastern hardwood values remain highly species- and location-dependent. Pennsylvania’s latest report showed second-quarter white oak averaging roughly $490 to $698 per thousand board feet across several regions, while northern red oak averages ranged from about $472 to $587.
Landowner Takeaway: Finished lumber prices weakened sharply entering November, while standing timber remains a highly local market with Southern pulpwood especially weak and higher-value sawtimber and hardwood markets showing much wider regional variation.