Friday, August 8, 2025
Boise Cascade, a key producer and wholesale supplier of engineered wood products, building materials, and plywood across North America, has released its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2025. The company reported a net income of $62.0 million on sales of $1.7 billion, down from $112.3 million in net income on $1.8 billion in sales a year ago during the second quarter of 2024.
CEO Nate Jorgensen highlighted a modest rebound in sequential volume, driven by the usual uptick in activity for the season. Still, he noted that demand for new residential construction remains subdued. He added that the company faced expected expenses tied to an outage at the Oakdale plywood mill, part of a major modernization effort. But now that the upgrade is complete, it promises stronger reliability, improved efficiency, and the added value of self-reliant veneer production—a competitive edge for Boise Cascade going forward.
Jorgensen also detailed broader market trends affecting performance. In the second quarter of 2025, total U.S. housing starts slipped 1%, while single-family starts fell 8%, compared with the same quarter in 2024. Through the first half of 2025, total starts were down 1%, and single-family starts dropped 7% year over year. Since single-family housing is a major demand driver for Boise Cascade’s products, these declines reflect a constrained demand landscape—brought on by affordability challenges, elevated existing-home inventories, and lingering consumer caution.
Wood Products sales—which include Engineered Wood Products (EWP) like LVL (laminated veneer lumber) and I-joists, plus plywood sales to the Building Materials Distribution (BMD) channel—fell $42.6 million year over year, landing at $447.2 million in Q2 2025, down from $489.8 million in Q2 2024.
Several factors contributed:
These pressures also translated into earnings shrinkage. Wood Products segment income plunged by $58.8 million, to $14.0 million, down from $72.8 million the prior year. The decline stemmed from softer prices in both EWP and plywood, heightened per-unit conversion costs due to downtime during the Oakdale mill upgrade, lower plywood volumes, and unfavorable inventory adjustments. A $3.9 million gain from selling a non-operating property helped mitigate some of the losses.
$220M–$40M Capex Plan for 2025
Looking ahead, Jorgensen outlined the company’s capital expenditure expectations for 2025—excluding any acquisitions—at $220 million to $240 million. That includes:
Wood Products: $130M to $140M
BMD (Building Materials Distribution): $90M to $100M
Year-to-date through June 2025, Boise Cascade has already invested $132 million, allocated as:
Wood Products: $70M
BMD: $62M
These future investments could vary depending on potential acquisitions, efforts to spur organic growth, lease-purchase options, financial results, economic conditions, engineering availability, and the timing of equipment availability.
Despite a notable dip in earnings and persistent demand headwinds, Boise Cascade appears well-positioned for a rebound—thanks to the Oakdale mill upgrade. As seasonal volume gradually improves and future builds pick up, the company’s modernized capacity could yield efficiency gains and greater output control. Watch for housing market signals, acquisition moves, and capital deployment in the second half of 2025 to see how Boise Cascade leverages its strategic investments.
Wrap-UpSnapshot
Wood Products segment sales & earnings fell, driven by price, volume, and conversion cost pressures, partly eased by a property sale gain
Capex for full year projected: $220M to $240M (YTD: $132M)
Read more news on: construction, engineered wood, building materials
For more updates, visit the European woodworking industry website: woodandpanel.com
Tags: Boise Cascade earnings, engineered lumber trends, engineered wood products, plywood mill modernization, Q2 2025 net income, U.S. housing starts, wood products distributor
