After sharp decline, lumber prices rising again due to B.C. wildfires
Lumber prices have been on a wild ride over the last few months, and the wildfires currently burning across British Columbia have started to contribute to that volatility.
It's not that the fires are burning up logs that might otherwise be headed to market. Rather, wildfires have closed rail lines that mills use to transport their products from the Interior to the Port of Vancouver for export, explained John Innes, dean of UBC's Faculty of Forestry.
"The mills all have fairly large inventories of logs right now, and they could be exporting into the U.S. if they could, but the problem that they've got is actually the transport," Innes told CTV News Vancouver.
Both CP and CN rail lines have been affected by the wildfires, Innes said, adding that the transportation issues have reduced supply and caused prices to tick up in recent days.
The price of 1,000 board-feet of lumber had been falling steadily since hitting a peak of $1,686 on May 7. As of July 15, it had dropped to just $490, according to Innes.
This week, however, the price has begun to rise again, hitting $648.
"That's a fairly significant increase since the 15th of July," Innes said.
The UBC professor said prices "went pretty crazy" in May, and aren't likely to reach those heights again as a result of the current supply issues.
"Prices have since tumbled because the supply caught up with the demand," Innes said. "Now, there is a fear that over the next month or two, there will be difficulties in maintaining that supply. So that's why prices have gone back up again."
For consumers looking to buy lumber for a home renovation or a similar project, Innes recommends waiting a little while.
"There's always a little bit of a disconnect between the retail price and the wholesale price," he said.
Many retailers still have high-priced products in stock that they purchased a few weeks or months ago, he explained, adding that the recent decline in wholesale prices hasn't been fully passed on to consumers yet.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.'s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease's progression.
What Michael Cohen said on the stand in Trump hush money case
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial took the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
A child killer legally changed his name in B.C. The province is trying to stop that from happening again
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
Behind the barricades: How protesters spend their first days in a new encampment
Students in Montreal describe life in a newly erected encampment in Montreal as a whirlwind of preparations, from facing rain and a potential police crackdown to setting up a space for the exchange of ideas.
Next 48 hours will be 'extremely challenging' for B.C. wildfire crews near Fort Nelson: officials
A wildfire burning dangerously close to Fort Nelson, B.C., has grown to more than 50 square kilometres, and officials are warning that the blaze's behaviour is expected to become more volatile over the next 48 hours.