The Building Materials Market: Summer Pricing

UPDATED: June 2026

This spring has seen mortgage rates move higher after briefly dipping near 6% earlier in the year. Ongoing volatility in financial markets, combined with uncertainty in energy prices, continues to create upward pressure on both interest rates and building material costs. As a result, higher production and transportation expenses are expected to influence material pricing in the months ahead.

Compared to a typical spring season, gains are more modest. Higher production and transportation costs, along with general market uncertainty, continue to influence pricing and demand. Looking ahead, market conditions remain difficult to predict. Given the current environment, maintaining flexibility in purchasing decisions and closely monitoring market trends remains the most prudent approach for both buyers and contractors.

Since the start of April, framing lumber has seen approximately a 3% increase. Southern pine, whose market value has traditionally relied upon treated pine applications, is being used more and more for framing lumber instead of western species. However, it fell about 8% during the last week of May due to a shortage of available trucking capacity, which limited mills' ability to move previously sold inventory. In contrast, Coastal Hem-Fir increased roughly 1%, as West Coast species are rail-transported. Stud prices also posted gains of more than 2% during the month.

Structural panel prices edged up about 1% overall at the end of May and have shown stable numbers this entire Spring.

Products made from oil-based materials, like vinyl and PVC, have seen prices increase as the cost of oil remains high.

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

• Framing Lumber: Lumber is on the upswing, consistent with the time of the year. There are too many factors in the market to predict what will happen later in the year. Because of this, buyers nationally are keeping purchases close to actual sales and not making long-term deals.

Most of Southern Yellow Pine's large cost increases were then corrected in March through May. However, it's moving along with only slight price variations as of late. The market is still overproduced, with limited trucking affecting the mills' ability to ship out product. 2x4 boards are up 5% compared to the same time last year, along with studs only up 4%. However, 2x6 boards are up 53% compared to last year.

In Western Species, Coastal Hem Fir 2x4 boards are up 6% compared to the same time last year, while 2x6 is up 19%. Doug Fir studs are up 22%.

• OSB and Plywood: Structural Panels are on the rise, but gains are weighted toward plywood. Trucking issues have pushed out OSB ship times to 3+ weeks. OSB is feeling the pricing strain of overproduction in a market with lackluster demand. With Brazilian supply reduced, plywood prices continue to trade significantly above OSB, holding most of its gains from last year.

• Rebar: The continued implication of tariffs, anti-dumping threats, and rising ocean freight is causing import traders to hesitate in bringing large amounts of rebar into port. The decreased supply of imported rebar has allowed for price increases from domestic mills. McCoy's works with multiple vendors and remains stocked with numerous sources of domestic and imported rebar.

• T-Posts: A very busy fence-building season has increased overall demand. Mills have continued to receive very large order files, and lead times have begun to creep out as demand increases. As we move into the hottest months of the year, demand is expected to soften, which will allow mills to catch up.

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.