Commodity Education

Pourquoi c'est important pour les matériaux

Wood dominates low-rise residential construction wherever it grows, because it is strong enough for the spans involved, light enough to be carried by two people and cuttable with hand tools on site. The demand is cyclical and interest-rate sensitive, and sawmill capacity cannot be added inside one cycle - which is the whole explanation for how violently lumber prices move.

Échelle. A typical North American detached house contains roughly 15 to 20 thousand board feet of framing lumber plus several thousand square feet of structural panel, which is why lumber prices track housing starts more closely than any other indicator.

De quoi c'est composé

Tous les matériaux →

Matériau	Ce qu'il fait ici	Importance
Douglas Fir	Beams and long spans where stiffness governs	Définition de
Industrial Roundwood	The logs all of the above are cut from	Définition de
Oriented Strand Board	Wall and roof sheathing and subfloor	Définition de
Plywood	Structural sheathing, subfloor and formwork	Définition de
Softwood Lumber	Framing: studs, joists, rafters and plates	Définition de
Southern Yellow Pine	Framing and all treated ground-contact timber	Définition de
Spruce-Pine-Fir (SPF)	The northern framing commodity	Définition de
Hem-Fir	Framing and millwork	Important
Mass Timber	Floor slabs and frames in mid-rise buildings	Important
Western Red Cedar	Siding, shingles and exterior joinery	Important
Wood-Based Panels	Interior linings, cabinetry and joinery	Important