As Canadians came back to work after the Victoria Day long weekend and Americans got ready for their Memorial Day long weekend, actual purchasing of North American softwood lumber products slowed last week. For producers, the only interest was in selling wood currently on-hand rather than booking sales to extend their already-plump sawmill order files. Prices remained elevated. However the backlog of wood has started to move on the railways. Over this early-season work break, more long-awaited supply is going…

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Sales of new homes in the US fell by 1.5 per cent over the month of April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 662,000. According to the report released by the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development Wednesday, the small monthly decline partly reflected a downward revision to the estimate of new home sales in March from 694,000 to 672,000. Alternately, the monthly decline in April was concentrated in the West region, -15,000 (-8 per…

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Last week Madison’s was ensconced in the comfort and splendour of Harrison, BC, to attend and present at the Forest Resources Association Western Regional Meeting. This event was attended by many forest operators in the Pacific Northwest, from both sides of the border. A lot of the focus was on the coast, but there were significant updates on the situation for BC interior forest operators, as well as those in Washington State, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. A very good presentation…

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If lumber suppliers didn’t know what to do last week, this week was even more bananas. As explained by one veteran lumber trader on LinkedIn Friday: “Frustration reigned as the lack of availabilities and tardy shipments frazzled many. The concern is that there does not seem to be any end in sight [to logistics and supply chain problems].” Current Softwood Lumber Prices Compared to Recent and Historical Highs The below table is a comparison of June 2017 and May 2018…

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Manufacturing sales rose 1.4% to $57.1 billion in March, said Statistics Canada Thursday. Higher sales at primary metal; aerospace product and parts; fabricated metal product; and the other transportation equipment industries were mostly responsible for the increase. Overall, sales were up in 13 of 21 industries, representing 72% of the Canadian manufacturing sector, while in volume terms, manufacturing sales rose 0.6% Primary metal sales rose 4.2% to $4.4 billion in March following a 4.4% increase in February, and in the aerospace industry, production rose 10.6% in March following a 4.0% gain in February….

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“Where will it end? No one knows,” one experienced eastern US trader exclaimed in astonishment Friday morning. There can be no true answer to this until the horrifying (and seemingly NOT improving) railway backlog started well in 2Q 2017 is unravelled, not to be till July this year said one of the two major Canadian carriers to it’s forestry customers a couple of weeks ago. Once wood is again moving smoothly and sawmills can ship product out already made, then…

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The value of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities increased 3.1% to $8.4 billion in March, following a 2.8% decline in February. The rise was mainly the result of higher construction intentions for multi-family dwellings, particularly in Quebec and British Columbia, and, to a lesser extent, by the commercial component. Canada Residential sector: Rise in multi-family component offsets decline in single-family component Municipalities issued $5.4 billion worth of residential building permits in March, up 2.3% from February. A notable increase in the multi-family component more…

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The prices of most building materials increased in April, according to the latest Producer Price Index release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the count of unfilled jobs in the US construction sector increased in March and approached the post-Great Recession high level. According to the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey and NAHB analysis, released Tuesday, the number of open construction sector jobs increased to 248,000 in March. Elsewhere, ninety-one per cent of US remodellers reported shortages…

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Last week the Canadian forest products industry received very welcome news from one of the nation’s railroads which could only leave them overjoyed: CN Rail says it will purchase 350 riserless centrebeam lumber cars to meet growing demand for forest products despite lower segment revenues in the first quarter, according to Canadian Press. Rail Logistics Update, Canada The new cars will be manufactured by National Steel Car Ltd. at its assembly plant in Hamilton, ON, with deliveries expected to begin…

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