Sawmills in Eastern Canada, specifically Quebec, are already on their yearly seasonal break, and those in the West are not far behind with curtailments and closures. Usually at this time of year, construction activity is down to almost nothing, and lumber producers are spending their time doing year-end accounts and taking inventory.
In order to be in a good position for tax reporting, sawmills want to empty their yards of manufactured wood products before year-end. Also, they want to have their log yards stacked as full as possible. Because demand has been so consistently strong, which is very unusual for December, lumber suppliers have been quoting wood sales into January 2021. This is along with the accompanying increase in prices, of course. Customers, while reluctant, can do nothing but accept the higher price lists because none have been stocking inventory and there continues to be rush of real building projects to serve.
Industry expectations, therefore, are that current price increases will remain through the holidays and into the beginning of January.
