Smoother sailing for lumber prices?  After nearly three months
of weak pricing in North American lumber markets, there is
evidence that many of those prices have reached a bottom.
Structural panel prices are also showing greater resilience and
increasing in some instances. The ride down took a lot longer
than most traders had anticipated. This proved costly to many
wholesalers who, back in April and May, believed a short-lived
decline followed by a bounce in prices was a more likely
scenario.  Now, after an extended price downturn, expectations
among those in the industry are much more restrained. "I think
we're going to bump along during the summer without any big ups
or downs," was one trader's assessment of future price direction
and a popular opinion among market participants. Certainly, the
willingness of producers to adjust output to balance with
summertime demand will play a large part in prices over the next
few months. "It feels like we're producing for over 1 million
housing starts when it doesn't a