Lumber Prices Index: 331.2 in Jan 2026
The lumber ppi moved to 331.2 in Jan 2026, up 7.28 from 323.9 in Dec 2025. Year-over-year, the reading is up 44.53 from 286.6.
Lumber PPI - Historical Chart
Producer Price Index by Commodity: Lumber and Wood Products. Gray shaded areas indicate U.S. recessions.
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), Series WPU101. Shaded areas = NBER recession dates. Updated 2026-03-10.
What the Jan 2026 Data Shows
At 331.2, the lumber ppi in Jan 2026 is above the 10-year average of 277.4 by 53.75. The reading has been mixed recently, fluctuating without a clear directional trend over the past 6 months.
The lumber and wood products PPI (FRED series WPU101) tracks wholesale prices for dimensional lumber, plywood, oriented strand board (OSB), and related products. It is one of the most volatile commodity indices in the PPI family.
Lumber prices became a headline indicator during 2020-2021, when pandemic-driven demand (home renovation, new construction) collided with sawmill shutdowns and transportation bottlenecks. Prices spiked 300%+ from pre-pandemic levels before crashing and then spiking again. The volatility exposed contractors and builders to enormous margin risk.
Monthly data from BLS, part of the broader PPI program.
What This Metric Measures
This page tracks the Producer Price Index for lumber and wood products, tracking wholesale price changes for dimensional lumber, plywood, OSB, and other wood building materials. The data comes from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED database, series WPU101, updated monthly.
Historical Context
The all-time peak was 433.5 in Nov 2021 — roughly 1.3x the current level. The all-time trough was 8.5 in May 1933. During COVID-19 in 2020, the reading hit 230.7 (Dec 2020). Year-over-year, the metric has moved 15.5%.
Why It Matters
If you are a contractor, builder, or commercial developer, lumber prices directly determine your material costs and project profitability. A $10,000 lumber cost swing on a single project can wipe out the entire profit margin. For businesses carrying construction debt, lumber volatility adds uncertainty to the cash flow projections that underwrite those loans.
What This Means for Business Owners
Understanding where this metric stands relative to historical norms helps business owners make better borrowing decisions. Metrics far from their 10-year average often signal turning points that affect the cost and availability of credit.
Lumber Prices Index - Frequently Asked Questions
The lumber and wood products PPI is 331.18 as of Jan 2026, per FRED series WPU101. This tracks wholesale prices for dimensional lumber, plywood, and OSB. The extreme volatility since 2020 has made this one of the most-watched commodity indices.
A perfect storm: pandemic lockdowns shut sawmills, while stimulus-fueled home renovation demand and low mortgage rates drove housing starts to 15-year highs. Transportation bottlenecks compounded the shortage. Prices tripled before supply caught up.
Prices have fallen significantly from 2021 peaks but remain elevated relative to 2019 levels. The market has normalized somewhat but continues to exhibit more volatility than pre-pandemic norms due to supply chain restructuring and changing demand patterns.
Lumber typically accounts for 10-15% of a new home's construction cost. During the 2021 spike, the National Association of Home Builders estimated that elevated lumber prices added $36,000 to the cost of a new single-family home.
Commercial construction uses less wood framing than residential, but lumber is still significant for interior buildout, formwork, and light commercial structures. Elevated lumber costs increase tenant improvement budgets and new development costs.
FRED series WPU101 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index program. Monthly, covering wholesale transactions at mills and distribution yards. Commodity code 10 (Lumber and Wood Products).
Related Data & Guides
Data sourced from the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) maintained by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Updated monthly when new data is released.