Lumber prices have tumbled over the past 10 weeks as consumers retreat from do-it-yourself projects and builders slow the pace of housing starts.

Despite the 46-per-cent drop in prices since mid-March, relief won’t likely trickle down to consumers for at least four weeks, and recent prices are still twice as high as two years ago.

Cash prices – what sawmills charge wholesalers – are at US$750 for 1,000 board feet of two-by-fours made from Western spruce, pine and fir (SPF), according to Random Lengths, an Oregon-based company that monitors wood markets. The survey by Random Lengths shows prices fell US$150 last week to their lowest level in six months.

On Wednesday, futures prices decreased 7 per cent, suggesting that further declines are likely in cash prices in June.

Lumber markets have been on a roller-coaster ride, after the COVID-19 pandemic initially eroded demand in the first half of 2020. In the summer of 2020, people stuck at home started a do-it-yourself bonanza, snapping up construction materials for decks, fences and renovations.

But with consumers having more options this year for using their disposable income, the market for repairs and remodelling has slumped, said Dustin Jalbert, senior economist at Fastmarkets, which publishes Random Lengths.

“People are travelling and out of the house now,” he said in an interview. “Consumer behaviour is shifting.”

The latest downturn marks the third time since the autumn of 2020 that cyclical lumber markets have sunk sharply after surging.

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