The Building Materials Market: Autumn Pricing

UPDATED: October 2025

The current political and economic climate continues to thwart business confidence and remove speculation from the equation. Purchasing remains just-in-time nationally. The strong possibility of lower interest rates and lower lumber costs may help housing prospects. Repair/remodel and custom homes remain the best growth opportunities in our region. Still, those prospects are dimmed by growing concerns about construction labor shortages and higher prices due to tariffs. Those higher prices are just now beginning to be seen, particularly in steel, copper, and aluminum-based products.

Since July, we have seen a slow decline in the lumber market, with weak demand and oversupply. There has been around a 12% decrease. We didn't see the cost jump in Canadian SPF and Western Red Cedar expected from the recently imposed anti-dumping duty from the Commerce Department. Canadian SPF is down 5%, despite both anti-dumping and countervailing duties of 20% imposed by the Commerce Department. The decrease year to year in September was around 7% when compared to 2024. 

In July, the Composite Structural Panels declined 4.7% in June, with OSB down 8.5% and Southern Pine plywood sheathing down 9%. The panels market hit its current yearly low in August, declining around 19% since January. Going into September, we saw an 11% increase in OSB from the yearly low and a 2% increase in plywood. The decrease year to year in September was around 14% when compared to 2024. 

Most categories have been affected by tariffs.

Here's what we see now with some of the lumber and other building products in high demand.

• Framing Lumber:
  Lumber dropped 5% in September since August on weak demand and oversupply. Southern pine is down 4% since August, going into September. Studs are down 3%.
• OSB and Plywood:
  Structural Panels are struggling overall, as there are far fewer panel mills than lumber, and they are not as easy to constrain production in construction downturns.
• Rebar:
  The increase in tariffs announced in the spring is heavily impacting the pricing and supply of Rebar. Tariffs have decreased the supply of imported rebar, which is increasing demand for domestic rebar mills. This shortage in supply has caused an increase in prices both domestically and on imported rebars. McCoy's works closely with multiple vendors to ensure we remain adequately stocked throughout our stores.
• T-Posts:
  Demand for T-Posts has been surprisingly soft through the busiest time of year. Currently, tariffs have not impacted the cost of T-Posts, and pricing has been very stable throughout the year. According to our suppliers, supply is plentiful, and lead times remain short.

McCoy's merchandising and pricing teams source high-quality products and keep them in stock at the best prices. Our millwork works as fast as possible to get doors and windows shipped out. If you have any questions about the materials listed above or other products, please let us know by calling our hotline at 1-877-542-8986 or dropping by one of our stores. Let us know how we can help – we're here to serve you.