The Census Bureau released housing figures this week. In summary, the seasonally adjusted rate of housing starts declined to an annualized rate of 574,000 units, which is a 5.9% decrease from the previous April rate of 610,000. With the drop in housing, lumber prices also dropped. The Random Lengths composite index dropped to $272 per 1000 BF from the previous level of $358 per thousand.
In addition to housing start figures, the housing completions for May were as to follow. Privately-owned housing completions in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 687,000. This is 7.4 percent below the revised April estimate of 742,000 and is 15.4 percent below the May 2009 rate of 812,000. Single-family housing completions in May were at a rate of 507,000; this is 7.8 percent below the revised April rate of 550,000. The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 175,000.
Along with the housing news, lumber prices softened.
These prices impacted hardwood lumber and softwood lumber. Canada hardwood & hardwood, flooring, mouldings, etc. These include oak cherry hickory maple mahogany walnut teak cedar pine spruce cypress ash redwood and others. Softwoods including Doug-fir, Cedar lumber (western red cedar & Alaska yellow cedar), pine, and hemlock were also lower. Cherry lumber (Brazilian cherry & North American Cherry), oak lumber (red oak & white oak), and maple lumber (soft maple & hard maple) are furniture species. The reclaimed lumber markets also appear to be impacted. Demand for antique lumber, beams and flooring appear to have softened.
