Good morning. My name is Lisa, and I will be your conference facilitator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to Boise Cascade's Third Quarter 2022 Conference Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. A fter the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer period. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star one one on your telephone. Questions will be taken in the order they are received. Before we begin, I remind you that this call may contain forward-looking statements about the company's future business prospects and anticipated financial performance. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, and the company undertakes no duty to update them. Although these statements reflect management's expectations today, they are subject to a number of business risks and uncertainties.
Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in this call. For a discussion of the factors that may cause actual results to differ from the results anticipated, please refer to Boise Cascade's recent filings with the SEC. It is now my pleasure to introduce to you Kelly Hibbs, Senior Vice President, CFO, and Treasurer of Boise Cascade. Mr. Hibbs, you may begin your conference.
Thank you, Lisa. Good morning, everyone. I would like to welcome you to Boise Cascade's Third Quarter 2022 Earnings Call and Business Update. Joining me on today's call are Nate Jorgensen, our CEO, Mike Brown, Head of our Wood Products operations, and Jeff Strom, Head of our Building Materials Distribution operations. Turning to slide two, I would point out the information regarding our forward-looking statements. The appendix includes reconciliations from our GAAP net income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA and segment income to segment EBITDA. I will now turn the call over to Nate.
Thanks, Kelly. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for our earnings call today. I'm on slide number three. Our consolidated third-quarter sales of $2.2 billion were up 15% from third quarter 2021. Our net income was $219.6 million or $5.52 per share, compared to net income of $91.7 million or $2.31 per share in the year-ago quarter. Both of our businesses reported strong financial results during the third quarter despite the softening economic landscape. In third quarter 2022, total U.S. housing starts decreased 7%, driven by a decrease in single-family housing starts of 18% compared to the same period last year.
Wood Products reported segment EBITDA of $177.3 million in the third quarter, compared to $136 million in the year-ago quarter. Wood Products benefited from improved EWP sales realization, offset partially by lower plywood sales prices and higher manufacturing costs compared to last year's third quarter. The team in Wood Products did an outstanding job during the quarter of managing the integration efforts of the Coastal Plywood facilities in both Alabama and Florida. I'm pleased with our progress as we work to expand our EWP capacity and further leverage our integrated business model. Building Materials Distribution reported segment EBITDA of $161.2 million on sales of $2 billion for the third quarter, compared to $22.6 million of segment EBITDA on sales of $1.7 billion in the comparative prior year quarter.
We'll be the first to admit that BMD's comp from prior year, the result, wasn't a high bar because of the historic collapse in commodity product pricing during that period, but make no mistake that BMD's performance was very good in an environment that continues to present challenges on many fronts. I'm also pleased that the board of directors recently authorized a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, payable December 15, 2022. This represents a 25% increase in our quarterly dividend. In addition, our board also announced a special dividend of $1 per share, our second special dividend of 2022 that is also payable December 15. Kelly will now walk through our financial results in more detail and provide a further update on capital allocation, after which I'll come back to provide our outlook before we take your questions. Kelly?
Thank you, Nate. Wood Products sales in the third quarter, including sales to our distribution segment, were $595.3 million, compared to $497.3 million in third quarter 2021. As Nate mentioned, Wood Products reported segment EBITDA of $177.3 million, up from the EBITDA of $136 million reported in the year-ago quarter. The increase in segment EBITDA was due primarily to higher EWP sales prices, offset partially by lower plywood sales prices as well as higher manufacturing costs. Based on our preliminary purchase price allocation related to the Coastal acquisition, we expect depreciation and amortization on the acquired fixed assets and intangibles to be approximately $40 million per year. Refer to our third quarter Form 10-Q for further information regarding the preliminary purchase price allocation.
BMD sales in the quarter were $2 billion, up 14% from third quarter 2021. BMD reported segment EBITDA of $161.2 million in the third quarter compared to segment EBITDA of $22.6 million in the prior year quarter. The increase in segment EBITDA was driven by a gross margin increase of $166.1 million, resulting primarily from margin improvements on commodity products. In addition, selling and distribution expenses increased $25.7 million. Turning to slide five. Our third quarter sales volumes for LVL were up 12%, while sales volumes for I-joist were down 15% compared with third quarter 2021.
We experienced continued strong demand for LVL, whereas I-joist volumes were negatively impacted by the decline in single-family housing starts. Pricing in third quarter for LVL and I-joists were up 19% and 18% respectively compared with second quarter 2022, as previously announced price increases continued to take effect and price protection and allowance mechanisms roll off. We have experienced pricing pressures for EWP as we move through the fourth quarter, particularly on I-joists, as the market adjusts to changes in new residential construction activity. Turning to slide six. Our third quarter plywood sales volume in Wood Products was 329 million ft, compared to 314 million ft in third quarter 2021. Plywood sales volumes increased due to the acquisition of Coastal Plywood.
Excluding the Coastal volumes, our third quarter plywood sales were 272 million ft, down 13% from third quarter 2021 and 3% sequentially. The $477 per thousand average plywood net sales price in third quarter was down 15% from third quarter 2021 and down 16% sequentially. Thus far in the fourth quarter, plywood price realizations are approximately 13% below our third quarter average. Moving to slide seven. BMD's third quarter sales were $2 billion, up 14% from third quarter 2021, driven by a sales price increase of 15%, offset partially by sales volume decrease of 1%. By product line, commodity sales increased 1%, general line product sales increased 19%, and sales of EWP increased 33%.
Gross margin dollars increased by $166.1 million in third quarter compared to the same quarter last year, resulting primarily from margin improvements on commodity products. The gross margin percentage for BMD was 15.4%, up 750 basis points from the 7.9% reported in third quarter 2021. BMD's EBITDA margin was 8.2% for the quarter, up from the 1.3% reported in the year-ago quarter. BMD's sales pace thus far in the fourth quarter is seasonally weaker, but it has been a favorable environment for two-step distribution as our downstream customers desire mixed loads and look to manage inventory volume and price risk. The BMD team continues to provide high service levels, but is also focused on managing inventories as our channel partners expect weaker demand as winter approaches.
Given this backdrop, we anticipate lower EBITDA margins in the fourth quarter resulting from the potential of gross margin declines from product price erosion and deleveraging of fixed costs as sales decline. Moving to slides eight and nine. These slides show the declines in lumber and panel pricing during third quarter 2022, which appear quite modest when compared to third quarter 2021. We expect future commodity product pricing will continue to be volatile as the industry attempts to adjust supply to levels needed to support an uncertain near-term demand environment. I'm now on slide 10. We finished third quarter with $867.1 million of cash. Our total available liquidity at September thirtieth was approximately $1.3 billion, which reflects our cash and availability under our committed bank line. During third quarter, we amended our senior secured asset-based revolving credit facility and term loan.
The amendment increased the maximum amount available for revolving loans from $350 million - $400 million, extended the maturity date of the agreement, and transitioned the index rate from LIBOR to SOFR. The term loan remains at $50 million. Excluding acquisitions, we expect capital expenditures in 2022 to total approximately $100 million-$120 million, which includes BMD organic expansions in Ohio, Kentucky, and Minnesota, replacement of a dryer at our Chester, South Carolina veneer and plywood plant, and post-acquisition veneer equipment-related spending at our Chapman, Alabama facility. We expect capital expenditures in 2023 to total approximately $120 million-$140 million, which includes continuation of our multiyear capacity expansion projects in EWP and further investment in BMD organic growth projects.
As we've noted before, availability of engineering and construction resources, timing and availability of equipment purchases, and our financial results are among the factors that are expected to have an influence on these levels of capital expenditures. Consistent with last quarter, our effective tax rate is expected to be between 25% and 27%. I'll now move to capital allocation. As Nate mentioned earlier, our board recently approved a $0.03 per share or 25% increase in our quarterly dividend, effective with our December dividend payment. The board also approved a special dividend of $1 per share, our second special dividend of 2022. Dividends and opportunistic share repurchases remain two mechanisms in which we return capital to shareholders under our balanced approach to capital allocation.
After payment of the fourth quarter dividends, our balance sheet will remain very strong, providing us ample flexibility to continue to invest in our existing asset base and organic growth projects in both businesses. Our overarching objective remains to successfully grow our business while generating appropriate returns on shareholder capital. I will now turn it back over to Nate to discuss our business outlooks.
Thanks, Kelly. I'm on slide number 11. Current estimates for 2022 U.S. housing starts are between 1.5 and 1.6 million units, or essentially flat compared to 2021. However, continued actions by the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates to combat high levels of inflation has significantly increased mortgage rates and created a great deal of uncertainty broadly across the U.S. economy. Due to home affordability constraints and a weakening economy, the pace of new residential construction has slowed, and we expect demand to continue to decline for the remainder of 2022 and into 2023. Consensus forecast for 2023 housing starts in the U.S. are estimated to be 15%-20% below 2022 levels. As it relates to home improvement spending, the age of U.S. housing stock and elevated levels of homeowner equity provide a favorable backdrop for repair and remodel spending.
While likely tempered by an economic slowdown, we anticipate these drivers to continue to be supportive of homeowners' future investment in their residences. In Wood Products, we will be focused on continuing to successfully integrate the Coastal Plywood operations into our system and execution of the target investments to expand our EWP capacity. We will also closely monitor the changing housing market landscape and adjust production rates as appropriate. BMD continues with its steady execution of organic growth and is progressing well with the build-out of expansion projects at Marion, Ohio, Walton, Kentucky, and the recently announced expansion at Albuquerque, New Mexico. The BMD team also continues to work on additional organic growth opportunities in existing and new markets.
We have proven our effectiveness in managing market uncertainties and volatile commodity product pricing, and I'm confident in our ability to do so across all of our products and in the future. Times of uncertainty provide BMD with the opportunity to further demonstrate the value that two-step distribution provides to our supplier and customer partners. Our company remains incredibly well-positioned, and we will continue to make sure we use our operating and financial strength to benefit our customers, suppliers, communities, and shareholders. We remain committed to execution of our key strategic priorities as we navigate market uncertainties and clear signals of weaker near-term demand for new residential construction. Lastly, I'm very pleased with the early integration efforts related to the newly acquired Coastal Plywood facilities.
I want to express my gratitude to all associates throughout the organization, including our newest associates at Havana and Chapman, for keeping a sharp focus on our customers and working safely and effectively in this changing environment. Thank you for joining us for the call today and your continued support and interest in Boise Cascade. We welcome any questions at this time. Lisa, would you please open the phone lines?
Thank you. I will go ahead and we will now prepare for our questions. One moment while I get the roster together. Okay. Our first question will come from Susan Maklari of GS. Your line is open. Please go ahead.
Hey, good morning, guys. This is Charles Perron-Piché in for Susan. Thanks for taking my questions and congrats on a strong quarter.
Yeah, good morning, Charles.
Thanks, Charles.
Maybe first, you mentioned in your outlook the potential for price erosion in EWP over time. Can you talk about the trajectory you're thinking for that part of the market right now, given the current macro, but also given the significant advantages that these products have relative to alternatives and the tight labor market at the builder level, how should we think about your ability to hold prices maybe ahead of the cost inflation you might see on the fiber side? What is the trajectory of that maybe on the margins over time?
Charles, this is Mike Brown. Thank you very much for the question or multiple questions, I think. As it relates to our ability to hold EWP pricing, I think that has a lot to do with how we see the market evolve going forward. As Nate pointed out, remains to be seen what the market looks like in 2023. Generally speaking, EWP pricing tends to adjust more slowly than commodity-based pricing. I think where we'll end up remains to be seen, depending on how housing starts turn out in the coming 12 months. I think you asked a question as it relates to our position relative to alternative products. EWP as a general category is a value-added product.
Because of the way in which it goes to market and the way in which it's used in housing, I think we have a very good value proposition as it relates to what home builders are looking for. I think from that perspective, we're in a good spot. Please clarify. I think you asked a question around cost of the products. Was that correct? I didn't get all your multiple questions there.
Yeah. More about the trajectory of the cost, maybe on the fiber side, the input cost maybe getting lower faster than the trajectory you see on the EWP prices that will allow you to maybe expand margins.
Yeah.
despite the weakening top line.
Fairly clearly, one of our biggest input costs is that of fiber. As I looked at the numbers recently, we've had some very modest. I would call it very modest declines relative to the prior quarter as it relates to fiber costs. They're still elevated relative to the same quarter in the prior year. I think, based on what I'm seeing, that the input costs for fiber in particular, while they might slowly decline in some geographies, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, we have some headwinds there as it relates to the availability of fiber and the general environment that we're operating in from a regulatory perspective. One of our other major inputs, of course, is resin.
From that perspective, that's fairly closely tied to what happens in the petrochemical sector. As you've seen, we had a small decline in petrochemical or petroleum prices, but they have again started to increase. I'm not sure that I see a massive difference, particularly to the downside in our cost structure in the immediate future.
Gotcha. Okay. I appreciate the color there. Maybe on the BMD side, with the weakening macro environment, can you talk about the opportunities to develop new partnership to expand maybe your product portfolio, which maybe were not available over the past two years, given the supply chain? Any product category that look appealing to you or anything you would highlight there?
Charles, it's Nate. Yeah, I think as we look at our product mix in BMD, to your point, it is in markets where things are pretty tight in terms of supply availability. There's limited options in terms of where we can grow, in terms of not only expanding, you know, maybe our current products, but also new product opportunities. We see that very much part of our opportunity moving forward in BMD, and some of our legacy products, but potentially new products and services as well. As the market kind of gets you know better settled in terms of supply and demand, we see our ability to continue to you know to grow and expand our products and services in BMD. That's something that's gonna be very much part of our thinking as we finish off 2022 and head into 2023.
Yeah. Thanks, Nate. Maybe just to follow up on that, can you talk about the performance mix that you've seen in BMD across maybe categories that are more new residential focused, maybe like doors and windows, EWP, versus other categories like decking? What are you expecting for that going forward? Maybe the implication that the mix shift on the new residential construction side becoming softer could impact your margins, maybe.
Yeah, good question. I think, you know, when it comes to mix, I like probably a more general statement. I think the products and services that are, you know, that are more maybe tethered to multi-family and repair and remodel likely will have a stronger tailwind as we head into next year. I guess the other thing I would describe is really across all of our products and services in BMD. It's really clear that the dependency our customers have on out-of-warehouse services continues to grow. You know, maybe in past years where they'd be taking, you know, truckloads or rail car direct on a range of products and services, today, it's more units, job packs and pieces. That fits incredibly well with our BMD capabilities and our BMD plan moving forward.
If you think about product mix and service and margin, I think the more the focus will be, and the need will be for our customers is more out-of-warehouse services and support, and we're again really well positioned for that opportunity.
Perfect. Thanks for your time, guys.
Thanks, Charles.
Thank you. One moment while we prepare for the next question. Our next question is coming from Mark Wilde of BMO. Please go ahead.
Thanks. Good morning, Nate, Kelly.
Morning, Mark.
Nate, just curious, going back to EWP, I mean, I assume most of EWP goes into new housing, but can you help us with a little color on new housing versus how much of that market is repair and remodel related or multifamily related?
Good morning, Mark. It's Mike. Good to hear you again.
Mike.
I think you hit the nail right on the head. The very great majority of the products that we sell today, EWP products we sell today do go into single family. However, there is a market obviously for repair and remodel, but for Boise Cascade at this point in time or up until now, that has been a relatively small component of our sales. On the multifamily side of things, I think that has been a small component of our mix, but I think it's likely to be a bigger component in the future. You know, we're actively working on that particular front to help offset any changes we might see in single family starts as we move into 2023.
Okay. All right. Just stepping over to your general line business, I'm just curious what you're seeing there in terms of just market tightness. I know earlier in the year, things like doors and windows were quite tight. You know, are you seeing, you know, generally an easing there? Has it had any impact yet on general line pricing?
Hey, Mark, this is Jeff. We are definitely seeing the easing on that. The product is freeing up for sure. There are still a few categories in there where there's still an allocation, but overall it has freed up significantly, and we're pretty much can purchase what you need, where you need it.
Okay. Any pricing reductions yet or? 'Cause I think pricing on most of this stuff went up pretty sharply.
We haven't really seen it yet. There are several items out there on the general line that still have price increases announced for the first quarter that we're expecting to go through. You know, we'll watch that carefully and manage it like we always do.
Okay. All right. Finally, Nate or Kelly, can you just give us a little bit of color on that 2023 step up in CapEx and, you know, what that's gonna be composed of?
Yeah, sure, Mark. Happy to do so. As we alluded to in the talking points, you know, on wood products, there's a fair bit in there around continue our multi-year plan to expand EWP capacity. For example, in Chapman, we're gonna do things that relate to veneer equipment. We're gonna do things related to adding a poplar line, which again, that's a raw material, if you will, that goes into Alexandria.
And then we're also gonna do some things around I-joist line upgrades as well as layup line controls at Alex. Kind of a lot of that, a good chunk of that, call it probably 60-65 of that range is related to wood products, and a lot of that is devoted to the Southeast. In BMD, the range I'd give you there is probably between 70 and 80, and it's a lot like what we've been doing, which is existing increases in existing locations. It's also looking to further scale door shops.
It's also looking at new locations, and we're actively working on a number of those fronts. Can't give you specifics yet on those locations and those specific spots on the map. Included in that range is some expected organic growth that we expect to be speaking to in the near future.
Okay. All right. That's helpful. I'll turn it over. Thanks, Kelly.
Thanks, Mark.
Thank you. One moment while we prepare for the next question. Our next question will be coming from Reuben of Benchmark, excuse me. You can go ahead.
You there, Reuben?
His line dropped. I'll go ahead and bring the next person to the platform.
Okay. Thanks, Lisa.
One moment. Our next question will be coming from Adi Madan of D.A. Davidson. Your line is open.
Hi, good morning, Nate, Mike, and Kelly. First off, congratulations on a great quarter. Just a few questions from me. I'm filling in for Kurt today, by the way. First question is, what were the contributions from an EBIT and EBITDA perspective for Coastal in the quarter, and were there any one-time items that impacted that?
Yeah. Thanks for the question, Adi. We don't typically speak to specific performance at a location level. Included in the results in the third quarter would be the purchase price accounting, in particular the inventory step-up. That would have mitigated what would have been expectations that are consistent with what we had when we acquired those assets.
Okay, got it. Secondly, is there any way to quantify the benefits on web stock costs relative to the last quarter given the declines in OSB? Will that continue to trickle over the next one or two quarters, assuming OSB prices remain flat from here?
Sure. This is Mike. The way we manage our wood cost stock is not really on a spot basis. As you pointed out, you know, the general pricing of OSB has declined, you know, in the last number of months. The way we look at it and the way we structure our costs, that's not really the way in which our costs or the wood costs flow through our cost statement. While they may come down a little bit going forward, it's not to the same extent as you would see with the spot prices for OSB.
Okay. Okay, yeah, that makes sense. Just lastly, you touched on this in your prepared remarks, but essentially you funded 70% of the Coastal acquisition with free cash flows in Q3, and I appreciate you just announced another supplemental dividend of $1 per share. How are you thinking about additional capital returns to shareholders? Specifically, can you talk more about are you more inclined to use share repurchases more than ever than in the past?
Yeah. I'll take that question, Adi. In terms of our approach to capital allocation, it really hasn't changed. Our balance sheet remains very strong and very flexible, and that's purposeful. We have that expanded capital program that we talked about that allows us to, you know, invest in our existing asset base and also do the organic spending projects we talked about. In these sorts of environments, M&A could be an opportunity as well. We'll certainly be receptive and open to inbound calls in that regard. Now specific to your question around returning cash to shareholders, that playbook is also the same. There's two components to that. There's the quarterly dividends, which, you know, over time we wanna modestly grow that, and we demonstrated that again last week.
Special dividends is another outlet, and share repurchases is always on the table and in the conversation. We do have, you know, a 2 million share authorization that's outstanding. Nothing to report on share repurchases at this point, but it's very much in the playbook.
Adi, it's Nate. Maybe just to add to Kelly's comments, you know, that's really an intentional conversation we have every quarter with the board. You know, so it's something that we were very deliberate with, very consistent with. As Kelly described, I think our parameters and the approach that we've taken is very similar to what we've done over the past number of quarters.
Right. Okay. Just one more quick question. With incrementals, the veneer supply from Coastal's Chapman Mill, and ignoring the current demand backdrop, would you be able to have more synchronized growth across LVL and I-joist?
Yeah, short answer is yes. We gave some amount of detail in the last quarter's call around, you know, by 2025, we expect 10%-12% more EWP capacity. That's a function of not just the incremental stress-related veneer that we get from that acquisition, but also some of the CapEx projects to put more steel in the ground to have more EWP capacity.
Okay, got it. I'll turn it over. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. One moment while we prepare for the next question. Our next question is coming from Reuben Garner of Benchmark. Please go ahead. Your line is open.
Thank you. Can you guys hear me now?
Got you, Reuben. How are you?
Doing great. Sorry about that. A couple of follow-ups, I think, to things you've already discussed. I just wanna kinda get some more color. On the distribution side, it sounds like it sounds like pricing, and it looks like margins have held up pretty well of late. You know, you're clearly still well above where you were back in kind of 2017, 2018, 2019. If we see housing starts go back to that kinda, you know, level, where do you think the margins fall out? I mean, it seems to be pretty encouraging that you're still putting up an 8% EBITDA margin as the market has turned as quickly as it has.
Yeah. I think you got a two-parter there. In terms of you're right in your read that margins, you know, both gross and EBITDA have held up well, and I would say that has continued through October. Sales pace through October was pretty good. Again, the value of two-step distribution, mixed truckloads out of warehouse is a good thing for us. October has been pretty darn solid. November and December, you know, only 20 work days in each one of those months. Certainly the winter does come every November and December. We do expect to see some, you know, potentially some declines as we just in terms of sales velocity as we work our way through the winter.
I would also say as a reminder, you may remember last fourth quarter, Reuben, that commodities really kinda took off again in November and December, and we don't see any rational reason for that to happen, this quarter. Strong results. In terms of your next question, which is, okay, where do you wanna be when you make your way to the other side and/or get to a more normalized level, pace of business? Our goal is absolutely to expand that EBITDA margin that we've reported historically, which was the 3%-3.5%. We do believe we can be above that, over time for several reasons.
One, I think the commodity folks have done a great job, and you've seen it in our results in terms of managing through tremendous amount of volatility, and we're just getting better and better every day at that. Shout out to our commodity teams on that. Then as we continue to expand general line product offerings and align with some great vendors there and also further scale our door shops, that's all targeted towards expanding our gross and EBITDA margins as we move into the future. Yeah, I'm not yet ready to tell you, gee, just give you a specific target on what that could be. That is absolutely the objective.
Okay, perfect. We've definitely heard of some destocking across the building product space, and I'm just curious, it's a little tough to tell with your inventory, and I know there's a lot of moving pieces with price actions on both the commodity and other products of late. Can you kinda tell us where your inventory levels stand at distribution, kind of relative to maybe the peak and maybe relative to where they've been, you know, historically?
Yeah, Reuben, this is Jeff. I'll tell you, our inventory level right now is right on pace with what our sales pace is. I feel really good about where we sit. It is down from the peak for sure, but it's exactly where we'd want it to be right now heading into this.
Okay. Last one for me, same kind of, it's a follow-up to the first question you got about pricing and EWP. I guess in that same sort of scenario, if we go back to 800,000 to 900,000 single-family starts, are we at this point, would you think that these prices revert back to the prices that they were at that period? Or has enough changed structurally that there will be a higher kind of base for pricing for I-joist and some of your other products?
Reuben, I think it's a bit early to say what the pricing will be if we drop to your numbers, 800,000 or 900,000 for single family. However, I think it's fair to say that if the macro environment is as we think it might be, that the supply side will adjust, and that we'll probably end up seeing some decline erosion in EWP pricing. I'm not sure that I'd be confident at this stage to say that it would be either the same as what we saw previously or whether it would be some increment above that. I'm not sure we really know that yet, given there are a lot of moving parts relative to not only our production, but others that play in the same sector. I think it's a bit too early to hypothesize around what that might.
Hey, Reuben, it's Nate. Maybe just another quick comment on if you look at, you know, through the cycle, you know, in terms of how the EWP product category is positioned, I think the supply and demand balance is a really good one. I think as we look at, you know, that, you know, obviously, there's gonna be some short term, you know, how we work through an evolving marketplace here. I think, again, we're prepared to do that and make the needed adjustments. I think as you look at through the cycle, you know, kind of medium to longer term, we feel really good about the supply and demand balance within EWP and how we're gonna be positioned to support that.
Thanks for the time, Nate.
I guess, Reuben, while you're there, one other comment I would maybe add is around EWP volumes as we move into the fourth quarter. Certainly if you read the home builders commentary, they are very focused on finishing the projects underway, getting those closed up, and then in the price discovery phase, if you will, getting them moved. They are very prudent in terms of digging that next hole in the ground and making that next start.
You know, we alluded to I-joist a little bit in some of our comments, and you know, we are. That's where we're seeing, you know, some more pressure as well as, you know, a pretty meaningful slowdown in I-joist volumes as we kinda work through this initial phase and it's very fluid. I just wanted to add that color for you.
Very helpful. Thank you.
You bet.
Thank you. While we prepare for our next question. Our next question is gonna be coming from Jim of FactSet. Your line is open, Jim.
We're not picking up anything on our end, Lisa.
Yeah, look, the line is still there, though, but there is no one there, so would you like us to go ahead to closing remarks, sir?
Yeah, I'd say let's go ahead and close it up.
Okay. That is.
Okay.
The closing of our Q&A, and I would like to turn this call back over to Nate Jorgensen for closing remarks.
Great. Thank you, Lisa. Just, we appreciate everyone joining us this morning for update and thank you for your, you know, continued interest and support of Boise Cascade. With that, we'll sign off. Please be safe and be well. Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for today's conference call. This concludes everyone on this conference.