Monthly U.S. price of timber 2016-2023

The price of timber in the United States fluctuated widely over the last five years, from a low of 240 dollars per 1,000 board feet in January 2016 to a peak of over 1,500 dollars in April 2021. This overall increase has not been linear though, with, for example, lumber prices falling by around 50 percent between June and September 2018, and again between August and October 2020. Most recently, the value fell again by around 75 percent between May and August 2021. This earliest fall has been credited with causing many lumber mills to close around this time, which combined with increased tariffs, a labor shortage due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and increased demand to drive the 300 percent price increase seen between October 2020 and May 2021. As of the end of April 2023, timber price fell back to the lower prices observed at the end of 2022, and stood at 351.8 U.S. dollars per thousand board feet.