EP 163: Paywalls, Pine Rips, and Freight Freakouts

Holy Week edition with a major announcement—The Lumber Word is going subscription for people wanting to listen first!
The crew breaks down what that means, why timing matters in a 24–48-hour data market,
and then dives headfirst into one of the wildest setups we’ve seen: freight chaos,
pine vs. spruce divergence, and a market that might still have legs… or be closer to the edge than you think.

Timestamps:

0:00 – Holy Week kickoff + big shift to subscriber early access (no ads, faster intel)

4:00 – Russ Taylor debate, AD/CVD reality, and why nothing’s changing soon

9:00 – Freight explosion: rail surcharges + trucking volatility crushing margins

13:00 – Back-to-back trading vs. real value in a chaotic logistics market

14:00 – Pine vs. Spruce: why SYP ripped and SPF lagged hard

20:00 – Contracts vs. spot market—are they distorting price discovery?

29:00 – Freight as the real driver of the pine rally (canary in the coal mine)

33:00 – Bull market or head fake? Supply cuts vs. pipeline restock debate

35:00 – “Seller arrogance” = warning sign of a potential top

40:00 – Buyers scrambling to rebuild inventory + hot items emerging fast

Takeaway:

Freight is the hidden force, Pine led the charge, and now the market’s walking a tightrope
between a continued grind higher… or the early signs of a summer reset.

 

Advertiser

Fastmarkets RISI

Dustin Jalbert

Senior Economist Wood Products

djalbert@fastmarkets.com

www.fastmarkets.com

Show Contacts:

Gregg Riley: Gregg@sitkainc.com

Charles DeLaTorre: cdelatorre@ifpwood.com

Matt Beymer: mattbeymer@hamptonlumber.com

Ashley Boeckholt: ashley@sitkainc.com