NASHVILLE, TN - Sales for panel manufacturer Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE: LPX) fell during the second quarter to $519 million, 9 percent below the year ago period.  Oriented Strand Board took a precipitous drop, falling 36 percent to $224 million, mostly due to a decrease in pricing.

Sales of Laminated Veneer Lumber and Laminated Strand Lumber (LVL and LSL), used mostly in new construction, rose 33 percent to $81 million during the quarter. Another bright spot was siding.

“LP’s Siding business had another quarter of record volume shipments of SmartSide despite a tepid housing recovery in the quarter,” said Curt Stevens, CEO. “Strong demand from retail, repair and remodeling and non-residential structures allowed for continued growth in this business.”

LP’s OSB structural panel product segment reported net sales of $224 million were markedly lower then $306 million of net sales in the second quarter of 2013.

LP’s Siding segment consists of SmartSide siding and prefinished CanExel siding lines. These products are used in new construction as well as in the repair and remodeling markets. The Siding segment reported net sales of $170 million in the second quarter of 2014, an increase of 11 percent from $153 million in the year-ago second quarter.

“All the signs point to improving demand for housing given demographics, an improving economy and job growth,” Stevens said, but cautioned, "for this recovery to reach its potential, steps must be taken to foster credit access to the first time home buyer.”