I recently finished my 12' X 14' deck, using eastern white cedar decking and Western Red Cedar for railings . Today I went to get the last piece of 2" X 4"X 8' western red cedar for a hand rail. My local lumber yard owner indicated he may discontinue stocking the Western Red Cedar because sales have dropped off considerably since the recent increase in prices. I paid $31.96 for an 8' length of 2X4. That figures out to be $11.60 a board foot .My 2" X 6" X 14' were $96.30 each before the increase. That figures to be about $6.80 a board foot. Prices have almost doubled.

Edited December 5, 20178 yr by Ron Dudelston
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Could you have bought Trex or something similar and never have to paint it ever again for that kind of a price????

WOW! I have never priced the cedar. I was thinking about using some to make several outdoor signs. UGH! Might have to rethink that. BUT, and there is always a but, the HDU sign foam is expensive also.

 

I just checked what our local price for Western Red Cedar is, $10.77 for a 2" x 4" x 8' and a 2" x 6" x 8' is $18.88, both are green boards. But, it is grown and milled locally so I can see why there such a price difference.

The cedar I purchased is KD graded C & better. I'm thinking the increased duty on lumber imported from Canada caused the price increase.

Holy Cow! That's outrageous...to be honest, that is criminal!