The Building Materials Market: Summer Pricing

UPDATED: July 2025

The start of Spring came with market uncertainties surrounding proposed tariffs. These tariffs have been fluctuating in implementation causing traders and businesses alike to monitor the ever-changing situation.

Lumber fell overall 2.4% from March going into April. Canadian SPF fell 11% as traders stayed away from tariff threatened species. Investors look for economic stability, and in the absence of that, buy bare minimums. That's what we're currently experiencing on a national scale, and it shows in the lumber and panel markets. The US South, which is the South Central and Southeast US combined, has housing starts exceeding those from the combined Southwest, Northwest, North Central, Midwest, and Northeast regions of the country. There are still plenty of opportunities for business. Areas of strength in construction right now are repair/remodel, expanding outdoor living space through decks and pergolas, and custom home building.

Since March, lumber has fallen by almost 5% and panels around 11%. At the start of April, Canadian SPF, which normally takes off in March showed only a 3.4% increase due to tariff uncertainty. The panel side in April showed a slide of 3.1%, with OSB down 9.8% and 15/32” plywood sheathing down 1.5%. Composite panels fell 8.6% further in May, with both OSB and plywood down.

Concerns surrounding the impact of tariffs have put a damper on the market at the national level. It's unclear what the long-term effects will be.

All categories have been affected by tariffs or weather this Spring.

Here’s what we see now with some of the lumber and other building products in high demand.

• Framing Lumber:
  2x4, 2x6, 2x8, 2x10, 2x12, southern yellow pine lumber, and western species lumber prices continue to be a rollercoaster. Framing lumber has declined 7% since May. Southern pine overall has declined 8%, while Canadian SPF has declined 9%. Studs have declined 6%.
• OSB and Plywood:
  Composite Structural Panels have declined 3% since May, with OSB overall down 13% and sheathing plywood up 2.5%.
• Rebar:
  The rebar market is changing daily based on the ever-changing tariff situation. As it stands currently, additional tariffs have been added to all import rebar which will affect domestic rebar resulting in price increase. The continued on and off talks of tariffs as well as abnormally wet weather in our markets has resulted in a decreased demand in Springtime. McCoy’s is monitoring all situations very closely and working with our vendor partners to ensure that we have supply where needed.
• T-Posts:
  As we enter the hot summer months, demand remains very steady. The normal increase in demand for Spring business did not surface for various reasons, the biggest being weather. Supply remains strong and McCoy’s is positioned well.

McCoy’s merchandising and pricing teams source high-quality products and keep them in stock at the best prices. Our millwork works as fast as possible to get doors and windows shipped out. If you have any questions about the materials listed above or other products, please let us know by calling our hotline at 1-877-542-8986 or dropping by one of our stores. Let us know how we can help – we're here to serve you.