Will there be a day when the lumber industry embraces the use of artificial intelligence?
Artificial intelligence begins with a code. Codes must be written and formulas applied. How would a code be written for the lumber market that continues to puzzle those of us with extensive experience?
Based on the current lumber market activity, there just doesn’t seem to be a reliable way to consistently predict what’s next. At least it keeps each day interesting.
All indications pointed towards the market moving up. This has yet to happen. Mills have responded by slowing down production and in some cases they have shut down production completely. If the market could speak, it would have said, “So what, I am still not moving”.
There was an slight uptick with the anticipation of the closures, but when the news actually came out, nothing happened. In fact, the market has moved down slightly.
Current code indicators: Warming weather, labor shortages, China tariffs, rising log cost, buyer demand, seller persuasions, the overall unpredictability of the lumber market and the human condition