Shipments of lumber reported by NELMA’s lumber manufacturers totaled 684.5 million board feet through the first 9 months of 2015, a 7.6% increase over the same period last year. This significant uptick year-over-year was bolstered by a 15% increase in reported dimension lumber shipments for a total of 370.5 million board feet, primarily gradestamped Spruce-Pine-Fir South (SPFs). The opening of a new dimension mill midway in 2014 and an overall increase in production by NELMA’s dimension mills provides the explanation for this increase.
Meanwhile, shipments of Eastern White Pine during the 3rd Quarter of 2015 mirrored 2014’s totals for the same period with around 314 million board feet trucked to customers.
A breakdown of shipments for both segments of NELMA’s member mills through September show that dimension lumber accounted for 54% of the total; 46% Eastern White Pine.
The graphs below plot monthly shipments since 2007 for both groups:
