Lumber futures on Chicago Mercantile Exchange have been nearly halved in a matter of a month to $879 per thousand board feet from the all-time high in May of around $1,711. The reason for the latest downdraft is because sawmills are boosting output and domestic production is increasing, catching up with demand. “High prevailing prices have already encouraged lumber mills to boost output, and we anticipate that domestic production will rise even further as labor shortages in the trucking and forestry sector dissipate,” Samuel Burman, assistant commodities economist at Capital Economics. Lumber, which is typically transported on one of three...