2x4 Lumber Prices, March to August 2026: Up 34% in Five Months
Observed prices for framing lumber, March to August 2026, drawn from anonymized supplier invoices processed by CostCrunch. Prices are as billed.
Key takeaways
- 2x4 10 ft kiln-dried Douglas Fir rose 34% — $5.90 to $7.90 a piece, $0.59 to $0.79 per linear foot — in three discrete steps rather than a gradual drift.
- Price levels overlapped rather than replacing each other. On July 1, three prices were billed for the same board — $6.50, $6.90 and $7.90 — a 21.5% spread in a single day.
- Small orders absorbed increases first. Eight pieces went out at $6.50 two months before $6.50 became the standard price, while the largest single delivery in the set got the lowest price, $5.35.
- The increase was not confined to one item. A green Hem Fir 2x4 rose 42% in 24 days, a 2x8 rose 21%, and a 2x10 rose 25%. Nothing observed moved down.
- The most-bought length was the worst value. The 10-footer ran 13% more per linear foot than 8 ft and 16 ft stock off the same price list in the same week.
- Among 2x4s, green stock ran $609 to $863 per thousand board feet against $885 to $1,185 for kiln-dried Douglas Fir.
2x4 10 ft kiln-dried Douglas Fir
Source: CostCrunch spend data. 2x4 10 ft kiln-dried Douglas Fir, as billed March 9 to August 18, 2026. Hover any dot for the quantity.
$5.90 held from March 9 through June 2. Then $6.50, then $6.90, then $7.90 from July 1 onward, each level holding three to eight weeks. The levels did not replace one another cleanly — $6.50 first appeared on April 20, two months before it became standard, and was still being billed on July 1, the same day $7.90 appeared.
Source: CostCrunch spend data. 2x4 10 ft kiln-dried Douglas Fir. Data runs to August 18, so August is partial.
| Month | Pieces | Avg / piece | Per foot | vs. March |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March | 270 | $5.90 | $0.59 | — |
| April | 120 | $5.94 | $0.59 | +0.7% |
| May | 570 | $5.57 | $0.56 | −5.6% |
| June | 669 | $6.59 | $0.66 | +11.6% |
| July | 1,014 | $7.56 | $0.76 | +28.1% |
| August (to the 18th) | 317 | $7.91 | $0.79 | +34.0% |
May came in below March because one 340-piece order was billed at $5.35, the lowest price in the set — a volume price, not a market move. The inverse also holds: an eight-piece order was billed $6.50 on April 20 while every other April delivery went at $5.90, a 10% premium on the smallest order of the month.
Every other item rose as well
Source: CostCrunch spend data. Each point is a month with at least one observed delivery, volume-weighted across that month. The green Hem Fir was first observed in June, so its series starts there. August covers the 1st to the 18th.
| Item | Window | Per piece | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| #3 2x4 16 ft green Hem Fir | Jun 21 – Jul 15 | $6.50 → $9.20 | +42% |
| 2x8 12 ft green Hem Fir | Jun 8 – Jun 22 | $16.92 → $20.40 | +21% |
| 2x10 12 ft green Douglas Fir | Apr 21 – Jul 15 | $20.99 → $26.25 | +25% |
The steepest was the green Hem Fir 2x4: $6.50 on June 21, $7.99 on July 10, $9.20 on July 15 — 42% in 24 days.
Green and kiln-dried rose together rather than in opposition, which is worth separating from the idea that they are interchangeable. Green stock still carries mill moisture, so it is heavier and moves more as it dries. It is cheaper material, not the same material at a lower price.
Length and dimension
Source: CostCrunch spend data. Billed July 8 to July 13, 2026.
Length pricing is not linear and does not stay put. In one week the 8-footer and the 16-footer both ran $0.69 per foot while the 10-footer ran $0.79. Three weeks later the 8-footer had gone from $5.52 to $6.36, up 15%, erasing its advantage.
Cost per foot only compares boards of the same cross-section. Across dimensions the unit is the board foot — nominal thickness times width times length, divided by 12 — quoted per thousand as $/MBF.
| Item | Board feet / piece | $/MBF, first → latest | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2x4 10 ft kiln-dried Douglas Fir | 6.67 | $885 → $1,185 | +34% |
| #3 2x4 16 ft green Hem Fir | 10.67 | $609 → $863 | +42% |
| 2x8 12 ft green Hem Fir | 16.00 | $1,058 → $1,275 | +21% |
| 2x10 12 ft green Douglas Fir | 20.00 | $1,049 → $1,313 | +25% |
Two patterns hold across the set. Among the 2x4s, green ran below kiln-dried per board foot. Wider stock ran above both — a 2x10 at $1,313/MBF against a kiln-dried 2x4 at $1,185. Neither pattern is surprising, and both are invisible in per-piece or per-foot pricing, which is the reason to convert.
About this data
Prices are drawn from anonymized supplier invoices processed by CostCrunch.
This is not a regional or national index, and it does not establish why any price moved. A list revision, freight, tariffs, mill supply, or a volume tier gained or lost would all look identical on an invoice.
Averages are volume-weighted. Per-foot figures divide the piece price by nominal length; board-foot figures use nominal dimensions, which is how lumber is priced rather than how it measures.
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Last verified: August 19, 2026