"Our customers have requested to have the ability to trade our lumber markets electronically to more effectively manage their price risk that lumber wholesalers, miller, builders, retailers and others experience," said John Harangody, CME Group Director of Commodity Products. "As with all of our markets, the expansion to electronic trading will bring a new level of market access and transparency and will increase the distribution for one of our longest-trading markets."

The electronically traded lumber contracts will be identical to the contracts that will continue to be offered on the trading floor. Each contract represents 110,000-board feet of random length 2-by-4s that physically deliver at expiration and trade in $10 per 1,000 per-board feet increments.

Electronic trading hours will be Sunday from 5 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday through Friday. Daily trading floor hours for lumber will remain 9 a.m. to 1:07 p.m. All times are Central time. -- www.cme.com