"Why do we do the things we do?" is not a rhetorical question or psychological evaluation. It is important that we understand the reasons why we work in a specific category of the lumber industry...or any profession. It is important because, subconsciously, our customers and suppliers...

Market Summary This is an FDP reversal week as well as a 3-week interval. This three week interval is the third consecutive one making this rally now nine weeks old. Historically, "extended" trends last nine weeks. This one has certainly given buyers ample time and opportunity to...

For the wood truss industry, the single most important component in a component plant is LUMBER. Nothing is as price volatile. Nothing else takes up more physical space. Nothing else requires more constant cash or credit line. Nothing impacts the physical appearance and structural integrity of...

Snow, ice and cold sent contractors on eastern U.S. job sites running for cover the end of last week. That is not the case country wide, however it is a possibility in 80% of the continental U.S. now through the end of February. One can only ponder, in the depths of winter, how could our...

A couple of weeks ago Thom McAnally, publisher of Component Advertiser, asked if I would write a summary of how following Layman's Lumber Guide Forecasts helped/ or could have helped you in 2015. My first inclination was to create the graph below to determine that 37 of 52 weeks, our lumber...

Evaluation November was a funky weather month. The east fielded above average rainfall, the western mountains got some snow, even though most temperatures were above average over the entire nation. There are pockets of pent up demand, like northern TX and Oklahoma, although on the whole,...