Nation’s Largest Supplier of Residential Building Products Sees Promise in Higher Lumber Sales

Article originally posted on CoStar on March 5, 2024

The nation’s largest supplier of residential building products is reporting products such as lumber are showing signs of growth after a weakened housing market hurt the company’s bottom line last year.

Executives at Builders FirstSource, based in Irving, Texas, told investors that building products such as lumber and truss that help connect building materials grew by the single digits in the fourth quarter. That marked a change from the company’s third-quarter results that were challenged due to the weakened single-family housing industry.

“There are signs that the single-family market is starting to pick up,” Builders FirstSource Chief Financial Officer Peter Jackson told investors during the company’s recent earnings call. “Our early cycle products are beginning to show growth, including high single-digits growth in lumber and mid-single-digits growth in truss.”

In general, Jackson said the rise in lumber sales is “indicative of the beginning of the turn” in the housing market. Meanwhile, the company’s later cycle products, such as doors and trim, have yet to show any meaningful recovery from the weakened market, he added.