Good Bones Dave Pasolli If you enjoy watching any of the many home improvement shows where the hosts pick an older home to renovate, you notice they always talk about the “bones” of the house. In their opinion, this is one of the most important features of any potential renovation job. Typically, they... Read More March 2018 Issue #10224 Page 74
Lumber Briefs: Managing the Bear Market Matt Layman 4 Costly Bear Market Mistakes! What could possibly be worse than missing a huge bullish market move? There are four critical bull market mistakes. Actually, they go both ways...bull and bear markets. Failure to acknowledge that the trend/price direction is preparing to reverse. This... Read More March 2018 Issue #10224 Page 77
IBS / NAHB 2018 Joe Kannapell Knowing that our future depends on builders is reason enough to attend their best exhibition, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) International Builders Show (IBS). Understanding the technology that they adopt, the changes impacting them, and the shape of their new products helps us... Read More February 2018 Issue #10223 Page 6
Lumber Briefs: What Could Go Wrong? vs. Nothing Could Go Wrong! Matt Layman “What is the lumber market going to do?” is a very important question and the answer is very simple. It is going to rise and fall. Brilliant, right? A better question might be, “How far will lumber prices rise and fall?” That answer requires an understanding of... Read More February 2018 Issue #10223 Page 81
Lumber Briefs: Hello 2018...The Year of the Bearish Lumber Market Matt Layman This time last year, my message was that 2017 was going to be a year of extreme volatility. To start the year, 2x4 #2 SYP-E was trading for $460. The same product in Canadian SPF-W was $310. SYP was $150 over SPF. By November that relationship had flipped with SYP at $430 and SPF at $490. SYP... Read More January 2018 Issue #10222 Page 79
Lumber Briefs: September has Surged; Now the October Ovation Matt Layman Perhaps the most important question in our lumber industry is: “What's next?” We are in the heat of the September Surge. That will soon be coming to an end, but the clock doesn't stand still. Lord willing, the sun will rise tomorrow. So, the question is, “What's... Read More October 2017 Issue #10219 Page 73
Lumber Briefs: September Surge at Historically High Prices Matt Layman September Surge...Normal What exactly is the September Surge? It is an increase in lumber buying, reversing from summer inventory liquidation to inventory accumulation to prepare for autumn. Weather begins to improve after August’s sweltering heat and humidity-restricting jobsite... Read More September 2017 Issue #10218 Page 67
Lumber Briefs: Lumber Buying is Fun, But It Is No Joke Matt Layman Back in the day, when the lumber brokerage firm I worked for would not hesitate to take a 500 car position half a dozen times a year, I had this brilliant idea. I approached my four best customers, two wood preservers and two truss manufacturers, with a plan. Rather than profiting from my risk... Read More August 2017 Issue #10217 Page 65
Lumber Briefs: Housing’s Growth Rings Matt Layman Housing Inventory Looking Bullish Seven years later, the Great Recession now a memory, and as many years of construction growth behind us, the US housing situation is “critical.” We have added fewer new single family homes over the last decade than any of the previous five... Read More July 2017 Issue #10216 Page 73
Lumber Briefs: Ideal Lumber Inventory Management Strategy...ELASTICITY Matt Layman A fellow lumberman asked me to describe my ideal style of inventory management, or buying strategies. So, here it is. The best way to describe it is “elasticity.” Imagine the lumber market like the waves and tides of the sea. The tide is predictable...it ebbs and flows with the... Read More June 2017 Issue #10215 Page 67