Lumber Price Index | Week of April 20, 2026

Framing lumber prices have pulled back from a brief January surge and are now sitting in the mid-$500s per thousand board feet (MBF) on the futures market, while cash market indices tracked by Madison’s Lumber Reporter show the wholesale framing composite at roughly $522/MBF as of early April. The week-over-week move on the cash side is marginally positive, but futures have sold off harder, dropping more than 3% in a single week. Two forces are colliding: soft housing demand is taking lumber down, while tariff costs on Canadian imports are keeping a floor under domestic supply. Neither force is going away quickly.

Where Prices Stand Right Now

<cite index=“10-1”>Lumber prices in early April 2026 edged up slightly, with Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2×4 #2&Btr KD (RL) reaching US$490 per thousand board feet for the week ending April 3, according to Madison’s Lumber Reporter.</cite> The broader composite index tells a similar story: <cite index=“10-17,10-18”>Madison’s Lumber Prices Index for the week ending April 3, 2026 came in at US$522/MBF, up 1% ($4) from the prior week’s $518, and up 6% ($31) from one month earlier.</cite>

The cash market and the futures market are telling slightly different stories. <cite index=“2-1,2-2”>The week-to-week framing lumber price increased 0.2% on April 10, according to Madison’s Lumber Price Index, with prices 4.3% higher than one month ago and 2.0% higher from a year ago.</cite> On the futures side, the picture is more bearish: <cite index=“2-9,2-10”>lumber futures were down 3.5% over the same week, down 4.1% from a month ago, and only 0.4% higher than a year ago.</cite>

For context on where these numbers sit historically, <cite index=“8-15,8-16”>the lumber futures market hit an all-time high of $1,711/MBF in May 2021, then crashed back to $350/MBF by late 2022 before stabilizing in the $400–$600/MBF range through 2023–2026.</cite>

Why Prices Are Under Pressure

The main driver is demand destruction on the housing side. <cite index=“1-6,1-7”>Lumber futures traded near a one-month low around $570/MBF in mid-April as demand collapsed faster than sawmills could reduce supply, driven by a 14.2% collapse in single-family housing starts and a 5.4% decline in building permits.</cite>

<cite index=“1-8,1-9”>Ongoing sawmill closures have removed 1.3 billion board feet of capacity, and US duties on Canadian imports remain near 45%. But those supply constraints are failing to support prices against a sharp loss of buyers. Mortgage rates near 6.46% have stifled buyer traffic, leaving builders managing a 2.4% increase in unsold inventory.</cite>

On the supply side, mills are not rushing to fill the gap. <cite index=“10-12,10-13”>Sawmills held off on boosting production, citing ongoing soft demand and uncertainty in the housing market. Buyers also continued to limit inventory, raising concerns that low field stocks could become problematic if homebuilding accelerates.</cite> That second point matters: if spring demand picks up faster than expected, thin inventories throughout the supply chain could push cash prices up quickly.

The Tariff Situation on Canadian Lumber

Canadian softwood is the single biggest variable in U.S. framing lumber supply. <cite index=“25-13”>Canada supplies about a quarter of annual U.S. softwood demand, a critical portion of the framing lumber used in a standard single-family home.</cite>

On April 14, the Department of Commerce issued a preliminary determination that changes the duty math. <cite index=“25-3,25-4”>The DoC took a preliminary step to lower the combined antidumping and countervailing duty rate on most Canadian softwood lumber by 10 percentage points, setting the new preliminary combined rate at 24.83%, down from the current 35.16%.</cite> That sounds like relief, but read the fine print: <cite index=“25-7,25-8”>a separate 10% tariff imposed in October 2025 under Section 232 is applied on top of these duties, meaning the effective combined burden for Canadian producers remains at 34.83%, not the lower 24.83% figure.</cite>

<cite index=“21-3”>These preliminary rates do not take effect, and may serve only as an indication of final rates expected in August 2026 at the earliest, or October 2026 if fully extended.</cite> In other words, the current 45.16% combined rate is still what Canadian producers are paying at the border today. <cite index=“28-2”>NAHB has estimated that combined tariffs and duties have added at least US$10,000 to the cost of a new single-family home.</cite>

<cite index=“30-7”>With housing affordability already near a historic low, NAHB continues to call on the Trump administration to suspend tariffs on Canadian lumber imports and to move immediately into negotiations on a new softwood lumber agreement that would eliminate tariffs altogether.</cite>

What to Watch Going Into Spring

Seasonality normally lifts cash prices between March and June, but that pattern depends on construction activity actually materializing. <cite index=“8-19,8-20”>Lumber prices typically peak in spring and early summer when building season drives demand, and bottom out in late fall and winter. Buying framing packages in November or December can save 10–20% compared to May pricing.</cite> That window has largely passed for this cycle.

The futures-to-cash gap is worth noting. <cite index=“5-27,5-28,5-29”>Lumber futures reflect market expectations for what pricing may do in the near future, while local lumber pricing reflects real inventory, delivery costs, and purchasing timelines. Local pricing typically adjusts based on availability and restocking costs.</cite> Right now, futures are more pessimistic than the cash market, which means your yard pricing and your futures-based headline number may look like they’re describing two different markets. They are.

Freight is also adding cost. <cite index=“10-14,10-15”>Transportation challenges intensified in early April as freight rates climbed and truck availability tightened across all regions. Construction activity picked up in southern states, prompting increased orders and stretching sawmill order files into late April.</cite>

How to Use This Data When Pricing Jobs

The cash market benchmark to use for estimating is the Madison’s Lumber Prices Index, currently around $522/MBF on the composite. Futures are useful for directional signals, not for quoting material costs. The two numbers diverge, and the cash index is what your yard is pricing against.

<cite index=“2-3”>Surveys from Home Innovation Research Labs show that the average new single-family home uses roughly 15,000 board feet of framing lumber</cite>, which means a 6% price swing from last month translates to roughly $450–$600 in material cost on a standard frame, before markup. Build that buffer into bids priced more than 30 days out.

The tariff picture will not resolve before August at the earliest. Until the Commerce Department issues its final determination, the 45% effective rate on Canadian lumber stays in place, and that cost is already embedded in what distributors are charging. A potential drop to 34.83% this fall could create a modest downward adjustment in prices, but don’t count on it in a current bid.

The clearest signal right now: cash prices are holding up better than futures, inventories are lean, and any demand surprise to the upside would tighten supply faster than mills can respond.