Atlanta GA Lumber Prices up 35% This Year, 60% Since Last Year

Lumber and OSB prices are up sharply this year, due to few mills still being operational and limited supply of logs. We have probably seen the lows for the year already in SPF lumber, which has taken a huge jump, and is up over 60% from last year. Wet weather in Southern Yellow Pine producing areas has severely limited the harvesting ability of loggers. Logs for OSB and plywood are also limited, and will continue to be until the producing areas dry out. A small increase in new home starts has severely taxed the supply chain at all levels, and the heavy snows may give mills a chance to catch up. Snow in the Atlanta – Athens GA area has not slowed jobsite delivery.
Ainsworth Lumber Co.’s OSB mill at 100 Mile House, B.C., will be down April 12-29 for scheduled maintenance.
Boise Cascade’s plywood mill in Kettle Falls, Wash., will be down the week of February 15 for maintenance.
On a brighter note, M.C. Dixon Lumber Co. may restart its sawmill in Eufaula, Ala., with help from a Community Development Block Grant administered by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. The mill shut down in 2008.
Call (770) 995-3900 for current pricing on lumber and panel products.

Atlanta GA SPF Lumber up 60% Since Last Year

Lumber and OSB prices are up sharply this year, due to multiple mills still being shut down and log supplies being limited. We have probably seen the lows for the year already in SPF and Yellow Pine lumber, both of which have taken a huge jump already this year. Southern Yellow Pine producing areas are extremely wet, and this has severely limited the harvesting ability of loggers. Logs for OSB and plywood are also limited, and will continue to be until the producing areas dry out. Also, there has been substantial demand from biomass plants, which now compete with OSB and pulp mills for wood fiber. Even though new home construction is off, a small increase in new home starts has severely taxed the supply chain at all levels. Snow in the Atlanta – Athens GA area has not slowed jobsite delivery.
Ainsworth Lumber Co.’s OSB mill at 100 Mile House, B.C., will be down April 12-29 for scheduled maintenance.
Boise Cascade’s plywood mill in Kettle Falls, Wash., will be down the week of February 15 for maintenance.
On a brighter note, M.C. Dixon Lumber Co. may restart its sawmill in Eufaula, Ala., with help from a Community Development Block Grant administered by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. The mill shut down in 2008.
Call (770) 995-3900 for current pricing on lumber and panel products.

Helping YOU build YOUR LEED Certified American Dream Home

Let Cofer/Adams help you with your LEED certification needs. Cofer/Adams is the leading Atlanta - Athens Georgia area supplier of building materials that can help you attain LEED certification for your home or wood-framed commercial building. Extra points can be achieved by using Boise engineered lumber, cut by our computerized, optimized SawTec saw to minimize waste. Huber OSB products, such as Zip-Wall, Zip-Roof and Advantech sub-flooring are part of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), do not use any urea-formaldehyde in the manufacturing process, and qualify based on manufacturing proximity in our area. Energy Star doors and windows help with points and energy savings. Masonite's "Safe and Sound" interior doors utilize DorCor™ made from wheat straw, and reduce sound transmission between rooms. Check with us for the green products you need to gain points for your LEED certified building.

The Unintended Consequence of China's Lumber Demand, OSB Prices Soften

Many people have heard me talk about the unintended consequences that result from situations in the lumber market. While China's demand for lumber has helped the lumber industry in North America, one unintended consequence could be that there will be less lumber supply available for U.S. homebuilding, and prices will rise as domestic demand increases.

As China's demand for lumber increases, it could reduce lumber available for U.S. homebuilding. China in now the second largest user of North American lumber. Only the United States uses more. Low-grade lumber that would be used for building houses in Atlanta is used largely in concrete forming when shipped to China, and also in furniture construction. Inventories are low for building material supply yards for this time of year. However, there is very little residential construction in Georgia, and the record-breaking rains of the last week have made jobsite delivery nearly imposible.
Lumber sales to China continue to see growth
B.C. continues to ramp up lumber shipments to China and has already exceeded its lumber shipments to the Asian economic giant over last year despite the difficult global economic conditions.
Typically, OSB prices start to fall at this time of year, unless there is tropical activity to stimulate buying. Mill files are growing shorter, and secondaries are trying to move off contract loads. Two Atlantic Ocean weather systems being watched
The National Hurricane Center is monitoring two systems in the Atlantic Ocean this morning.

Lumber Prices Increase While Rain in Atlanta and Athens, Georgia Push Other Building Materials Prices Lower

An increased rate of housing starts in August, combined with low field inventories drove lumber prices up. to Jobsite delivery was hampered in Georgia, especially in the Athens - Atlanta area.
CME lumber ends higher on firmer cash
'A midweek upswing in sales of Western S-P-F sparked the market. Wholesalers took cautious long positions and distributors more confidently replenished,' Random Lengths said.
Lumber and panel mills continue to shut down or curtail production, but that seem to give little support to other building materials. OSB and plywood mills still have some order files, but are under pressure from increased selling at the secondary levels. Upward pressure on panel prices could result from any development of tropical activity in the Atlantic.
Tropical Storm "Grace" forming?
After a week-long quiet spell, the tropics are showing signs of life as a large area of low pressure takes shape in the central Atlantic.

Prices for Georgia Lumber & Building Material continue to decline

Lumber and building material prices are slowly grinding lower again. As a result ofhousing market fundamentals, lumber & building material supply businesses in Georgia continue to suffer:
James Hardie: US Housing Market Hasn't Bottomed, But Close
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--James Hardie Industries NV (JHX) Chief Executive Louis Gries said Monday he expects positive year-on-year housing starts data in the U.S. between March and May 2010.
DJ CME Lumber Review: September Slips But Most Others Gain
Trading Markets (press release)
A broker said better-than-expected housing starts in Canada during August reported early in the day might have been mildly supportive for lumber futures.
-There seems to be little support for OSB prices, other than 2-3 week order files at the mills. With the mill curtailments and shutdowns in effect, development of any tropical activity could cause a further surge in prices.

Lumber Rises, Weyerhaeuser Reopens Mill, OSB Strong, EWP Panel Rebate

CME lumber end mostly up on short covering
(Reuters) - Lumber futures at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange closed mostly higher last Thursday amid light short covering with only limitless September down ahead of its expiration next week.
Mill reopens after August shutdown
As a result of these challenging market conditions, the Philadelphia facility underwent this extended downtime to balance supply with customer demand...
OSB manufacturers now pushing through second price increase

First Time Use Builder Rebate – AdvanTech® & ZIP System™ Products Build Green with Huber Engineered Wood Products and get money back as well!

US West Coast Lumber and Log Exports Up, Atlanta Home Sales Report

West Coast's log, lumber exports increase in second quarter of 2009
By USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station
A total of 239.5 million board feet of softwood logs and 80.2 million board feet of softwood lumber was exported from Washington, Oregon, northern California, and Alaska in April, May, and June of this year, according to the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station.
Log exports for the second quarter of 2009 from Oregon and Washington totaled 189.5 million board feet, up 38.6 percent from the first quarter volume of 136.7 million board feet.
-As these exports increase, there will be less raw materials for domestic production of lumber, plywood, OSB, doors and windows. This could result in material shortages for lumber & building material producers, builidng material suppliers and builders.
Atlanta Home Sales Report
2007-2008 Home sales overview by county- Atlanta
Gwinnett 2008 10,467 units -31.30% from 2007.

Atlanta BlueLinx adds LiteSteel beams in Georgia, Lumber and OSB

BlueLinx is Now Distributing LiteSteel Beam
ATLANTA -- BlueLinx Corporation has entered into an agreement with LiteSteel Technologies America, LLC to distribute its LiteSteel™ beam in 29 U.S. markets.
-BlueLinx is a major distributor of building supplies in the Athens -Atlanta, Georgia area, including lumber, OSB, plywood, engineered wood, wood molding and trim.

Lumber Dealers Finding Value in Value-Added OSB
Branded products now offer moisture resistance, taller sizes to increase wind resistance, radiant barrier backings, pre-markings, FSC and SFI certification, and more.
-Here at Cofer/Adams Building Center, Inc., we carry TechShield by LP, Zip Wall and Zip Roof by Huber for roof and wall sheathing. We also carry Weyerhaeuser's StructureWood Edge Gold and Huber's Advantech for engineered wood sub-floor use.

July New Home Permits & Starts Commentary

The graph above shows the Seasonally Adjusted New Residential Construction & Sales data through July 2009. The lines represent Total Permits and Starts, Single Family Permits and Starts, Single Family Units Sold, Total Under Construction and Single Family Under Construction. The straight trend line represents a 50 year regression analysis of Single Family Starts. It is worth noting that there have been several construction downturns since 1959, and that we have surpassed levels that have triggered recovery in all of the past housing downturns.




If you look at Single Family Starts and Permits, we see that the inflection point probably occurred somewhere between January and March of 2009. It was only later in the spring that we saw a significant increase in the Atlanta – Athens area. Lumber, plywood, and OSB mills continue to curtail or shut down completely, even though lumber and Panel prices have risen above the lows that were at or below sustainable levels.

The quantity of Single Family Homes for Sale is the lowest it has been since April, 1993.
“The median sales price of new houses sold in July 2009 was $210,100; the average sales price was $269,200. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of July was 271,000. This represents a supply of 7.5 months at the current sales rate.” Source: U.S. Census Bureau, NEW RESIDENTIAL SALES IN JULY 2009.
As the supply of new homes continues to drop, new homes will need to be built to replenish the supply. This will require new jobs to be added in the construction industry, which should help lower unemployment, and contribute to a new cycle of prosperity in our U.S. economy.

Capacity for single family residential construction has fallen as builders, building material product suppliers, and lumber and panel mills downsized or shutdown completely. This is good news for any lumber mill, lumber yard, building material supply, and builder left standing in the market.

Reid Adams
http://www.coferadams.com/
Cofer Adams Building Center, Inc. is a full service building material supply of structural and related building products for residential new construction in the Atlanta – Athens Georgia area. We provide prefabricated components, including floor trusses, roof trusses, and engineered wood; wood and vinyl windows; and pre-hung interior and exterior doors, as well as assemble and distributes interior and exterior door units. We also offer lumber and wood sheet goods comprising dimensional lumber, plywood, and oriented strand board products used in on-site house and commercial framing; millwork products, which consist of interior trim, exterior trim, columns, and posts; and other building products that include gypsum, roofing, and insulation.

Signs of economic recovery growing locally

The good news is the bad news is getting better.

June retail sales in the Pensacola Bay Area turned in the fourth-best performance among Florida's 20 major metropolitan areas, slightly trailing only Fort Walton Beach, Panama City and Melbourne.
Although still down 2.3 percent over same month in 2008, June's $453 million in taxable retail sales was a $60 million improvement over April's figures, and $33 million better than in May.
University of West Florida economist Rick Harper said the strong showing by Pensacola and Panhandle cities is due in large part to its huge military payroll.
"The fact that Pensacola, Fort Walton and Panama City had among the least bad retail sales and unemployment numbers across the state, is consistent with the fact this region has one of the heaviest shares of government and military employees," Harper said.

*** When parts of Florida pick up, it is a good sign for neighboring states. It shouldn't be long before housing picks up and the demand for lumber, plywood, OSB and other building materials increase. This is good news for every building material supply and lumber yard left standing. Reid Adams www.coferadams.com
www.coferadams.net