While lumber prices have plunged in recent weeks, industry experts say increased demand and limited supply will keep the cost of softwood lumber above pre-pandemic levels for years to come.
John Innes, dean of the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Forestry, told CTVNews.ca that lumber prices in North America reached their peak in May due to"People were doing home renovations because they couldn't go on holiday, they were at home, they were wondering what to do with themselves, and so they decided they'd put in a new deck or some new fencing," Innes explained in a telephone interview on Thursday.
However, Innes said this decline does not mean that retailers will lower prices on the lumber they previously purchased at record cost. Jannke told CTVNews.ca that the demand for softwood lumber is "simply much stronger" than it was five years ago due to increased housing starts. He said pine beetle infestations over the last decade have also reduced the allowable timber cut in the B.C. Interior by roughly 40 per cent, limiting supply.
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