Tariffs on Canadian products, whether in effect or not, are having an impact on the American lumber industry. Fluctuating prices, shifting consumer confidence, and general confusion are all in play.

“There’s just so much confusion going on surrounding the whole thing, even last Thursday (March 6) into Friday (March 7) the tariffs went on and then they pulled it back for about 4 hours and then they came back on,” said Joe Bohaty, a sales and purchasing representative for Manion’s Wholesale in Superior, WI.

“Right now, mills are pushing their prices up about 25 percent to protect what they’ve got going on. How long those stick depends on how quickly these two (Canada and the U.S.) get to the negotiating table. I know they (Canada) have a new prime minister coming in here very shortly, so there may be some changes there,” said Bohaty. He also notes that Manion’s sources around 60% of their products from Canada, and about 25% from the U.S, giving them a front row seat to the shifting prices.

Other sources within the industry are reporting price increases of anywhere from 40% to 65%, depending on the goods purchased. They also noted that they didn’t receive a commodity price sheet (usually received twice a week) for lumber from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange for the first time since the spring of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused prices to skyrocket.

Another concern with increasing prices of lumber is the cost of building a house. Bohaty says that despite the hikes, builders are still going to build.

“People that are going to build are going to find a way to build. And are prices up 25 percent, yes. There are other ways to get your house price to a level of comfortability, not just that lumber is going to price me out of the house I want to build. That’s not the case. You know, interior fixtures and all that kind of stuff, there’s ways to work around,” said Bohaty.

He mentioned that builders who are beginning projects in the spring likely already have their materials and is cautioning customers against loading up on lumber while prices are high.

There’s currently no timetable for when prices will stabilize, but there could be clarity in the coming days and weeks.