Lumber Prices Are Skyrocketing Again — Here’s Why

As of March 14, the price of lumber futures has risen to over $664 per thousand board feet, according to Trading Economica. That’s the most expensive lumber has been since nearly two and a half years ago when pandemic-related supply chain issues caused prices to skyrocket.

Today, uncertainty is the main factor driving this upward trend in lumber prices. The lumber market is mostly reacting to the Trump administration’s rollout of tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, which has caused confusion on both sides of the border.

“Every day there’s a new interpretation of what Trump will do next,” Vancouver wood-market consultant Russ Taylor told the Wall Street Journal. “The whole lumber industry doesn’t know what to do. We want to know what the rules of the game are. It’s total chaos.”

According to recent reports, U.S.-based homebuilders have been stockpiling lumber in the wake of the tariff announcements and making plans to switch from foreign imports to American-grown wood. Due to a lack of domestic supply, the U.S. currently imports about 30 percent of the softwood lumber used in construction and home building.

Should You Build in 2025?

If you’re a homebuilding professional, you’ve likely got no choice but to keep building regardless of how high lumber prices climb. But if you’re a DIYer looking to plan a major project this summer, you can afford to be a little more discerning and ask yourself… is now the best time to build?

The answer ultimately depends on the scale of your project, its timeline, and the flexibility of your budget. Lumber suppliers buy their stock months in advance, so these recent price surges will not be reflected in lumber yard prices for at least a few months. Still, it’s important to keep in mind that the later we get into 2025, the higher the cost of lumber in stores will be.

If you’re planning a build that’s not too complicated and you have a bit of wiggle room in your budget, you can probably still attempt to tackle it in summer 2025. But if your schedule and budget are tight and you need a lot of lumber, it might be wise to wait and see how further attempts at tariffs continue to impact lumber prices over the next year.

Sources

• Wall Stree Journal, “Tariffs Send Lumber Prices to 30-Month High” (2025)
• MSN, “Builders Stockpile Lumber, Swap Out Materials to Work Around Tariffs” (2025)
• Trading Economics, “Lumber Futures” (2025)

The post Lumber Prices Are Skyrocketing Again — Here’s Why appeared first on Family Handyman.

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