Author: kkosman

  • North America Softwood Lumber Production, Sawmill Capacity Utilization, WWPA: JUNE 2020

    US and especially Canadian softwood lumber production and sawmill capacity utilization rates reversed direction in June from sharp drops earlier in 2020 due to the lockdown caused by the COVID19 pandemic. Compared to one-year-ago, for January – June 2020 softwood lumber production in the US improved by +2%, says the latest issue of the Western…

  • Softwood Lumber Prices Increase By Smaller Amounts As Demand Slows

    As Madison’s had suggested last week, the unprecedented increases in North America construction framing softwood lumber prices seen so far during 2020 slowed somewhat last week. Normally by Labour Day customers have ordered, and indeed received, their wood for ongoing and expected projects to the end of the year. Usually in early September prices have…

  • Madison’s Western S-P-F Softwood Lumber Prices Sept 4: sneak preview

    Here is a SNEAK PEAK at tomorrow’s print benchmark Western Spruce-Pine-Fir (WSPF) softwood lumber prices: “Demand eased somewhat, or possibly suppliers just did not have prompt wood on hand to sell. Lumber prices continued to rise but by smaller increments than during the past couple of months. Replacement items were again more popular than the…

  • Demand Appears to Taper Off as Softwood Lumber Prices Rise Further Still

    While North American softwood lumber prices continued to climb last week, there was a palpable reduction in the enthusiasm of buyers. Normally by Labour Day end-users are well stocked up with the wood they need for ongoing building projects thus are not placing new orders for September or October delivery. However, all can agree that…

  • US House Prices vs Price-to-Rent Ratio: June 2020

    Case-Shiller: National House Price Index increased +4.3% year-over-year in June As an example, if a house price was US$200,000 in January 2000, the price would be close to US$289,000 today adjusted for inflation (+45%).  That is why this graph is important – this shows “real” prices (adjusted for inflation). In real terms, US house prices are…