The year-old U.S./Canadian softwood
agreement has brought an unprecedented
level of confusion to the always
turbulent market for framing lumber. In
January, western spruce-pine-fir 2x4s
were trading at $410 per thousand board
feet (mbf), up from $245 a year before,
according to the lumber market newsletter
Random Lengths. But near-record high
prices were only part of the problem: The
wild swings in prices throughout
the winter were an equal concern.
Homebuilding groups and lumber dealers
alike are blaming the April 1996 softwood
deal for bringing on the most
volatile prices in recent memory.
"With the introduction of the quota
system, we are seeing falsely inflated
price spikes ... panic buying ... and further
price increases," said a position
paper from