The Source for Canadian and U.S. Construction Framing Softwood Lumber and Panel Prices

British Columbia Wildfires 2017

July 20, 2017 Kéta Kosman

INITIALLY PUBLISHED IN Madison’s Lumber Reporter July 14, 2017: Weather experts in western Canada have deemed wildfire season in British Columbia this year as “hazard index high” explained wildfire ecologist Robert Gray to Madison’s Thursday in a phone interview. The weather service expects this hot, dry weather pattern will likely hold for 10 – 12 weeks. “This year is shaping up like 2003,” detailed Gray. In 2003 was the catastrophic wild re which was extremely damaging to the town of…

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Canada New Housing Price Index: May 2017

July 19, 2017 Kéta Kosman

Toronto, ON, and Vancouver, BC, were largely responsible for a 0.7 per cent monthly rise in new house prices in Canada in May, said Statistics Canada Thursday. Toronto was the largest contributor to the national gain, rising 1.1 per cent from April to May. Builders linked higher prices to market conditions, a shortage of developed land and higher construction costs. Canada New Housing Price Index: May 2017 Prices for new houses in Vancouver rose for a third consecutive month, up…

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US Home Builders Report Lumber Shortages: May 2017

July 18, 2017 Kéta Kosman

According to the May 2017 survey for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, out Tuesday, the availability of building materials, especially framing lumber, significantly jumped on the list of homebuilder concerns, revealing that 21 per cent of single-family builder respondents reported a shortage of framing lumber. US LUMBER SHORTAGES: MAY 2017 This is a striking jump from 2014 when no product or material was cited as being in short supply by more than 15 per cent of builders. In fact,…

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Canada Lumber Production: April 2017

July 17, 2017 Kéta Kosman

Lumber production in Canada was down 7.1 per cent from March, to 5,778.2 thousand cubic metres of lumber in April, according to Statistics Canada July 7. Production was 1.8 per cent lower than in April 2016. Sawmills shipped 5,886.6 thousand cubic metres of lumber in April 2017, up 0.8 per cent from March and 4.1 per cent higher than in April 2016.

US Residential Construction Spending and Investment: May and 1Q 2017

July 13, 2017 Kéta Kosman

National Association of Home Builders analysis of Census Construction Spending Wednesday data shows that total private residential construction spending in the US fell -0.6 per cent in May, the first decline after a strong start this year and the largest one since June 2014. Elsewhere, final estimates of 1Q 2017 GDP growth (revised up two-tenths of a percentage point to 1.4 per cent) released June 30, show that housing’s share of gross domestic product (GDP) was unchanged at 15.6 per…

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Canada Building permits: May 2017

July 12, 2017 Kéta Kosman

Canadian municipalities issued $7.7 billion worth of building permits in May, up +8.9 per cent from April and the third highest value on record, according to Statistics Canada Thursday. The national increase was mainly the result of higher construction intentions for residential buildings, particularly in Ontario. Seven provinces registered gains in the total value of building permits in May, and every building component increased except institutional structures. The value of residential building permits issued by Canadian municipalities increased +10.8 per…

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Update of Friday’s Softwood Lumber Rumours: More Rumours

July 12, 2017 Kéta Kosman

A very good source to Madison’s in Québec has stated this morning that: “ U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and the US side proposed, in their latest discussions with Canada’s Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland – source in the Canadian industry that spoke with Chrystia Freeland’s office Friday. A source close to the US Lumber Coalition related to Madison’s this morning that the two representatives met Friday and talked “as always” and “ “surely shook hands. But it wasn’t shaking hands…

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Credible rumours of Tentative Softwood Lumber deal: Canada-US

July 12, 2017 Kéta Kosman

A reliable source in Ottawa has conveyed that, although not signed, and subject to further negotiations, Canada’s Christina Freeland and the U.S.’ Wilbur Ross “shook hands” on a ten year Canada – U.S. Softwood Lumber Agreement. The SLA would terminate the present Canadian Softwood Lumber AD/CVD case, and be replaced with volume restrictions in the form of a quota, similar to the 2006 SLA, but without Export Surcharges. Instead of export surcharges, volume violations would involve significant penalties. The exact…

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Canada Railway Carloadings: April 2017

July 12, 2017 Kéta Kosman

The volume of rail freight carried in Canada totalled 31.4 million tonnes in April, up 11.3 per cent from the same month last year, according to Statistics Canada Wednesday. Freight originating in Canada increased 10.6 per cent in April from the same month a year earlier, to 28.3 million tonnes. Non-intermodal freight increased 8.5 per cent to 304,000 carloads in April. The amount of freight loaded into these cars totalled 25.3 million tonnes, up 11.3 per cent from the same…

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US House Prices, Pending Home Sales: April & May 17

July 12, 2017 Kéta Kosman

The S&P/Case-Shiller and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Tuesday released their respective home price indices for April. National home prices increased at a more moderate annual growth rate, while local home price gains varied. US House Prices, Pending Home Sales: April & May 17 The Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index, reported by S&P Dow Jones Indices, rose at a seasonally adjusted annual growth rate of 2 per cent in April, down from 3 per cent in March. After…

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