Lumber is a highly illiquid commodity when it comes to the futures contracts offered by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Each contract represents 110,000 board feet of lumber in specifications set forth by the Exchange. The CME contract quotes the price of wood in dollars per 1,000 board feet. Nearby May futures settled on April 6 at $536.20 which makes a contract of lumber worth just under $59,000.
Lumber is a critical industrial commodity when it comes to construction and building infrastructure. Like copper, other ferrous and nonferrous metals, energy, and other industrial metals and minerals,