Led by the highest volume of Dimension lumber in more than 8 years, total shipments of lumber from NELMA member mills for the first 6 months of 2015 totaled 444.9 million board feet. Dimension lumber, primarily construction grade material produced from species within the Spruce-Pine-Fir grouping, accounted for 54% of the overall total, or 241.9 million board feet. Shipments of Eastern White Pine made up the remaining 46% (203 million board feet), predominately appearance grade boards.
Compared to the same period of 2014, Dimension shipments are up a whopping 19.5%, while Eastern White Pine matched the previous year’s total. Overall, 2015 shipments were up by 9.7% versus the first 6 months of 2014.
Shipments by month for 2007-2015 are depicted in the graphs below for both Dimension and Eastern White Pine lumber:
