Future lumber price is hard to nail down

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, November, 2006 | by Alan J. Heavens

Reduced demand for housing has manifested itself in many ways: 6.6 months of unsold inventory at last report; sales 17 percent below the level of last autumn; and builders offering more incentives to get houses moving by year's end. It also translates into reduced prices for building materials, except for steel, cement and copper - three of the main ingredients in commercial construction.

The Federal Reserve's Sept. 6 Beige Book reported that commercial real estate markets were "strong and, in most cases, increasingly so," with Philadelphia part of that picture. Office markets also showed improvement in Boston, New York, Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco and other cities. In addition, Philadelphia was one of the Fed districts reporting "some firming" in its industrial market....