Softwood Lumber Costs Up Nearly 30% Over Past Three Months

Softwood lumber prices are now roughly equal to prices paid during the peak of the early-to-mid-2018 runup.

Prices paid for goods used in residential construction increased 1.8% on a seasonally unadjusted basis, marking the third consecutive month of positive growth, according to the Producer Price Index (PPI) released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The increases in prices paid for building materials was led by a 11.0% increase in softwood lumber prices. Since decreasing almost 11% in April, softwood lumber prices have increased 29.3% and are now roughly equal to the prices paid during the peak of the early-to-mid-2018 runup, according to the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Eye on Housing blog.