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Lumber Sinks for Seventh Day as Lofty Prices Cancel Home Builds

  • Futures in Chicago tumble by exchange limit on Tuesday
  • Drop may signal soaring costs will stifle building demand
A worker removes freshly cut boards from a Sooke, British Columbia sawmill in October 2021.

A worker removes freshly cut boards from a Sooke, British Columbia sawmill in October 2021.

Photographer: James MacDonald/Bloomberg
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Supply chain chaos and lofty prices have sparked a reversal for lumber.

Lumber futures tumbled by the exchange limit to $1,053.70 per 1,000 board feet on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday, heading for their seventh-straight decline. That’s the longest slump since July. The pullback in the futures market may signal that soaring costs and transport bottlenecks will crimp demand.