Lack of interest in US decking leads to a surplus of tongue and groove

We look at the consequences of the decking market's failure to fully recover

As last summer came and went, the Western Red Cedar decking market never got fully up to speed. Instead of the typical seasonal gains in pricing, the opposite happened.

Falling prices and a buildup of widths like kiln-dried 2×6 decking meant the returns were far more lucrative if the 2×6 could be resawn into 1×6 tongue and groove (T&G) siding. Once that started to happen, the supply of 1×6 T&G exploded.

Since Random Lengths started publishing prices for Cedar 1×6 T&G and 2×6 AK dry decking in April 2010, T&G traditionally held a $100-200 premium over the decking. The gap started to expand in 2017, and reached $285 for much of 2019. The gap briefly shrank in the spring of 2021, but soon swelled to record levels.

By late July 2021, the gap surpassed $1,000 before peaking at $1,495 last June. Given the lofty returns for T&G and the lack of interest in decking, producers that could cut both focused on the former.

Mills were sitting on 2×6 decking inventory for months, and either sent it to secondaries who ripped it to 1×6, or they did it themselves,” one producer said. “Suddenly everyone had T&G. People had so much T&G, they had to do stupid things to get their inventory levels down.”

As a result, the price gap has closed considerably since late June. It went back under $1,000 at the start of September, got down to $375 in mid-November, and has hovered around $500 since mid-December (chart).

Although the price spread between 2×6 decking and 1×6 T&G is high by historical standards, traders point out that demand for 2×6 decking has remained lower than normal throughout that time. In addition, the surplus T&G has dissipated, hence the growing gap. “If decking got better, that would help the T&G,” one trader said.

Stay ahead of wood products market changes by joining your peers in subscribing to the Random Lengths weekly reportSpeak to our team and find out more about our price products, forecasts and how Fastmarkets can help your business.

What to read next
Extreme volatility in the stock market, and accompanying widespread concern about the broader economy distracted framing lumber traders all week. Constant shifts in news emanating from the White House about tariffs kept traders on edge. Many traders, particularly in Canada, spent much of the week at the Montreal Wood Convention. Buyers replenished cautiously and conservatively […]
North American lumber industry struggles with closures, tariffs and post-pandemic demand shift
This consultation, which is open until May 11, 2025, seeks to ensure that our methodologies continue to reflect the physical market under indexation, in compliance with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) principles for Price Reporting Agencies (PRAs). This includes all elements of our pricing process, our price specifications, and publication frequency. You can […]
Trading in most markets stalled after Wednesday’s announcement that lumber imports from Canada would be exempt from the newly imposed tariffs by the Trump administration. The most notable immediate impact was seen in lumber futures, where prices tumbled more than $50 on Thursday. In most physical markets, prices adjusted mildly in both directions. While digesting […]
Global pulp markets were once again upended by new tariffs that went into effect at midnight on Thursday April 3. The announcement came hours after US President Donald Trump held a long-awaited press conference at the White House. In an event he for weeks had billed as “Liberation Day,” he announced a “final decision” on […]
Keeping up to date in the ever-shifting landscape of the forest industry is crucial for professionals to make sense of the market