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:: Friday, March 12, 2004 ::

Housing boom builds up wood products market TOBY MANTHEY, Statesman Journal
Lumber consumption reached a record nationwide last year, at 56.7 billion board feet. Western states’ mills supplied 30 percent of that. Among them, Oregon is the largest producer of softwood lumber products, supplying 6.3 billion board feet.

Prices of panels have gone up, thanks to the housing market. Structural-panel prices in the United States began an upward climb in April, according to Random Lengths, a leading industry journal. In late February, the Random Lengths Structural Panel Composite Price averaged $545 for the month, more than double the February 2003 price of $263.

Soaring Lumber Prices Push Up Remodeling, Home Building Costs in Eastern Iowa By George C. Ford, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids
With lumber prices soaring, carpenters at Eastern Iowa construction sites are likely measuring three times before cutting a piece of wood.

Unusually tight supplies, the rebuilding of Iraq and surging demand on the West Coast have driven up the composite price of framing lumber and structural panels.

The price has soared 20 percent from $327 per thousand board feet in mid-December to $392 on Friday, according to Random Lengths Publications, a market-tracking firm in Eugene, Ore.

The price of structural panels ... plywood or oriented strand board used for walls, subflooring and rooftops ... has skyrocketed 60 percent since December.

Construction Industry Searching for Solutions to Steel Price Hikes SOURCE National Concrete Masonry Association
Rebar, which averaged $249 per ton a year ago is up to $412 per ton. Medium sections and steel beams which sold last year for $336 per ton now sell for $491 per ton. Wire mesh, which averaged $257 per ton last year is now at $403 per ton.

posted 5:18 AM :: reference link :: 0 comments ::

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