{"id":87882,"date":"2024-07-12T07:50:38","date_gmt":"2024-07-12T07:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tin.happy-projects.ro\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T17:28:32","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T17:28:32","slug":"us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/ro\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/","title":{"rendered":"US market chaos- what\u2019s causing the slump?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A volatile and unpredictable lumber market contributed massively to a bumpy ride for the US construction sector during the COVID-19 pandemic \u2013 but after recovering from a massive dip in the second half of 2021, prices have since plunged once again.<span id=\"more-35841\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Supply chain snarls pushed lumber costs to a high of $1,645 per 1,000 board feet in May 2021 before those prices plummeted dramatically, bottoming out at just over $450 in August of that year. A steady climb between then and the following March saw prices recover to $1,460, but they subsequently crashed again, slumping to their lowest level since the beginning of the pandemic in May 2023.<\/p>\n<p>During a protracted slump this year, prices have remained below $400 per thousand board feet for 12 weeks in a row, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) \u2013 the most sustained slump since 2019.<\/p>\n<p>The sharp spike in mortgage rates and borrowing costs since 2022 has weighed down on the lumber market\u2019s performance and looks set to keep activity muted for the foreseeable future. Rates hovering around the 7% mark are especially impacting the repair and remodeling sector, which marks the biggest lumber consumption segment in the US.<\/p>\n<p>While inventory shortages and high demand contributed to the big jump in lumber prices during the pandemic, mills are now grappling with the opposite scenario: a lack of clamor in the market. South mills have too much production, and the new residential construction market is now sluggish. In May, housing starts were down about 5.5%, and the expectation is that there won\u2019t be many more gains in housing until mortgage rates start to inch lower.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mills Face Growing Crises Amid Lumber Market Volatility<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The prospect of borrowing costs remaining higher for longer could keep the market subdued by canceling out cheaper lumber costs and deterring builders from beginning projects, worsening the problems caused by too much supply.<\/p>\n<p>Many mills, which reinvested the cash made during COVID into optimizing their production, now face strain. They\u2019ve reinvested into new equipment and sometimes new mills have been built, resulting in too much supply. Curtailing production is not a favored option, as mills do not want to lose skilled employees who could be nabbed by another mill or industry.<\/p>\n<p>Larger builders are able to offer mortgage buydowns to borrowers, using discounted rates with the expectation that borrowing costs will dip within a couple of years. However, this is not an option for smaller builders, who are facing an uphill battle. Multifamily condo construction is also plummeting because of high financing costs, while single-family starts dipped in May.<\/p>\n<p><strong>When Could Borrowing Costs Finally Start to Fall?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Markets are currently expecting the Federal Reserve to cut its key rate at least once before the end of the year, with the central bank\u2019s preferred inflation gauge ticking lower last month and recent data indicating the labor market continues to cool. However, the Fed is taking a cautious approach on the rate front, as decision-makers stress the need to wait for more consistent signs that the economy is trending as hoped before bringing rates lower.<\/p>\n<p>A single mild rate cut is unlikely to change buyers\u2019 or builders\u2019 sentiments towards the market. A quarter-point drop, for example, is unlikely to have a significant impact; several reductions would be needed before confidence returns to the market.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A volatile and unpredictable lumber market contributed massively to a bumpy ride for the US construction sector during the COVID-19 pandemic \u2013 but after recovering from a massive dip in the second half of 2021, prices have since plunged once &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/ro\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4716],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-trends"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>US market chaos- what\u2019s causing the slump? - Timber Industry News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/ro\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ro_RO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US market chaos- what\u2019s causing the slump? - Timber Industry News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A volatile and unpredictable lumber market contributed massively to a bumpy ride for the US construction sector during the COVID-19 pandemic \u2013 but after recovering from a massive dip in the second half of 2021, prices have since plunged once &hellip; Continue reading &rarr;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/ro\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Timber Industry News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-07-12T07:50:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-18T17:28:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/default.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"GWMI Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Scris de\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"GWMI Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Timp estimat pentru citire\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"GWMI Admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/135a1ae8119d1d1755135add5b7287ff\"},\"headline\":\"US market chaos- what\u2019s causing the slump?\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-12T07:50:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-18T17:28:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/\"},\"wordCount\":552,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/default.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Latest Trends\"],\"inLanguage\":\"ro-RO\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/\",\"name\":\"US market chaos- what\u2019s causing the slump? - Timber Industry News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/default.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-12T07:50:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-18T17:28:32+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"ro-RO\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"ro-RO\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/default.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/default.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":500},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/\",\"name\":\"Timber Industry News\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"ro-RO\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Timber Industry News\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"ro-RO\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/logo_color.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/logo_color.svg\",\"width\":150,\"height\":57,\"caption\":\"Timber Industry News\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/135a1ae8119d1d1755135add5b7287ff\",\"name\":\"GWMI Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"ro-RO\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e3f366983e368f37c12ad29c07423641931b311f2561bc3cb4b4eaf6f44c3cb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e3f366983e368f37c12ad29c07423641931b311f2561bc3cb4b4eaf6f44c3cb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"GWMI Admin\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"US market chaos- what\u2019s causing the slump? - Timber Industry News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/ro\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/","og_locale":"ro_RO","og_type":"article","og_title":"US market chaos- what\u2019s causing the slump? - Timber Industry News","og_description":"A volatile and unpredictable lumber market contributed massively to a bumpy ride for the US construction sector during the COVID-19 pandemic \u2013 but after recovering from a massive dip in the second half of 2021, prices have since plunged once &hellip; Continue reading &rarr;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/ro\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/","og_site_name":"Timber Industry News","article_published_time":"2024-07-12T07:50:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-18T17:28:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":500,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/default.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"GWMI Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Scris de":"GWMI Admin","Timp estimat pentru citire":"3 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/"},"author":{"name":"GWMI Admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/135a1ae8119d1d1755135add5b7287ff"},"headline":"US market chaos- what\u2019s causing the slump?","datePublished":"2024-07-12T07:50:38+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-18T17:28:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/"},"wordCount":552,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/default.png","articleSection":["Latest Trends"],"inLanguage":"ro-RO","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/","url":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/","name":"US market chaos- what\u2019s causing the slump? - Timber Industry News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/default.png","datePublished":"2024-07-12T07:50:38+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-18T17:28:32+00:00","inLanguage":"ro-RO","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"ro-RO","@id":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/us-market-chaos-whats-causing-the-slump\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/default.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/default.png","width":500,"height":500},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/","name":"\u0218tiri din industria lemnului","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"ro-RO"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/#organization","name":"\u0218tiri din industria lemnului","url":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"ro-RO","@id":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/logo_color.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/logo_color.svg","width":150,"height":57,"caption":"Timber Industry News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/135a1ae8119d1d1755135add5b7287ff","name":"GWMI Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"ro-RO","@id":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e3f366983e368f37c12ad29c07423641931b311f2561bc3cb4b4eaf6f44c3cb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e3f366983e368f37c12ad29c07423641931b311f2561bc3cb4b4eaf6f44c3cb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"GWMI Admin"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}