Lumber Prices on the Rise Because of Coronavirus-Induced Mill Shutdowns
By Timothy Boone, The Advocate
The housing market has done surprisingly well during the coronavirus pandemic, but builders are concerned that a doubling in lumber prices caused by pandemic-induced mill shutdowns is adding thousands of dollars to the cost of new homes and could dampen the industry's contribution to an economic recovery.
With lumber mills slow to reopen in an uncertain economy and demand growing for new homes and from do-it-yourself home improvement projects by people stuck in their houses, the price of lumber has jumped to about $800 per thousand board feet Thursday. That's up from a mid-April low of around $320, but also is well above a pre-pandemic price of about $425.