Chart of the day -- OSB

Every once in a while, I like to throw a chart or two up on the blog (no jokes about me not having anything better to do from the peanut gallery!) This one shows the spot price of Oriented Strand Board, or OSB for short.

Why bother tracking OSB? It's a key component used in today's new homes for walls, floors, and roofs. If home sales and new home construction were improving, you would see OSB prices improve. They're not. In fact, at $130.50 per thousand square feet, OSB prices are the lowest since late 2001. Lumber futures prices are also dropping again, testing the lows they set in October and November.