Market Report: Wood Products Supply Chain Pressure and Mass Timber Strength

I’m a firm believer that absent the uncertainty and supply chain disruptions from the war in Iran wood products markets would be surprising to the upside right now. That said, we live in the real world with real-world consequences.

The conflict in Iran has caused a supply shock, and while almost all of our supplies are domestically made and sourced, we live in a global pricing world and have felt the increase in costs across the board.

Diesel prices have obviously spiked since the beginning of the year, which has had a huge impact on transportation and delivered product prices. Costs for other derivative products from fossil fuels are also spiking, such as benzyne, phenol, and methanol which are used in our resin.

The housing market looked like it was picking up in early 2026, as the US 10-year flirted with sub-4% levels with the equivalent decrease in mortgage rates. We are now 50 basis points higher with the subsequent impact on mortgage rates.

Logs are still expensive. The promised supply increase from the BLM and USFS have not yet materialized. The cumulative effect of reduced harvest due to the Habitat Conservation Plan, the Private Forest Accord, and the 2020 wildfires are still being felt.

Panel markets are still better in 2026 than 2025, thank goodness. We have been moving consistent panel volumes at much better prices than at the beginning of the year. The last couple of weeks have been a touch softer and slower, but there has been enough takeaway to absorb transportation increases while product prices remain relatively stable.

Green veneer has moved better than dry veneer over the last few weeks. We are seeing some signs that the LVL market is improving, but we are not hearing that LVL producers are running overtime or have a good long-term order file. This is an important part of the market that we need to see improve before we can say markets are strong and have legs.

Amazingly, the Mass Timber market is looking good. Order files extend over the next few months and we are running extended hours for the foreseeable future. Could strength in mass timber projects be an indicator of the future of commodity wood products markets? Time will tell, but we are hopeful this means rosier markets are on the horizon.