Gents, the US Government imposed extra Tariffs on Lumber coming from Canada, (in an effort to make the US domestic suppliers more competitive) and that, along with a reduced cut=> due mostly to a huge Pine Beetle infestation out west, limited supply. This was the first big bump up in retail prices.
All folks misread the market when Covid hit. The pandemic early on caused Canadian companies to restrict access to the forests to try to prevent spreading the disease (before vaccines) and they too expected the housing market in the USA to collapse. (Sort of a double whammy.) They also expected the Tarriffs to reduce the demand for imported wood. So they didn't even cut all the wood they had planned.
Of course, sort of like cars, no one anticipated the Covid behavior of the US Consumer, who was staying home and not traveling and spending their money. So a lot of them decided to build a new fence, add a Rec Room, hire a contractor to re-model, or even buy a new house. This created a large surge in demand against a short supply of product, which really drove up prices.
As the US Consumer has diverted their attention (somewhat) back to travelling, vacations, etc. (Aren't US Domestic Flying rates back to pre-pandemic levels?) Demand has fallen somewhat as have prices. The expectation is for them not to fall to below pre-pandemic levels as supply is now being restricted by major wildfires out west.
I hope this was interesting...
