Author: kkosman

US Housing Total Starts November 2020 & Benchmark Softwood Lumber Prices December 2020 At a completely unusual time of year, US housing starts for November 2020 increased — for the third straight month even. Residential starts rose +1.2% to a 1.55 million annualized rate from a downwardly revised 1.528 million a month earlier. Single-family starts,…

Canadian Softwood Plywood 9.5mm (3/8″) TORONTO Prices: 1999 compared to 2003 and 2020 Food for thought …. the historical high Plywood prices of 1999 were briefly eclipsed in 2003 due to rebuilding after the devastation of Hurricane Andrew in the US. Year-end 2020 Plywood prices have surpassed even the boggling highs of 2003. Will upward…

This week marks the normal seasonal end to softwood lumber manufacturing across most of North America annually. Sawmills in Eastern Canada, specifically Quebec, are already on their yearly seasonal break, and those in the West are not far behind with curtailments and closures, according to Madison’s Lumber Reporter. Usually at this time of year construction…

New Funding for Alberta Biomass Fuel Projects, Global Biomass Capacity to Grow by 16% Alberta Announces $150 Million in Funding for Emission-Cutting Projects The Government of Alberta announced in early November it will provide $100 million in funding for Emissions Reduction Alberta’s (ERA) Shovel-Ready Challenge through the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction fund. An additional…

A large proportion of lumber produced in Canada goes into US home building. Like lumber prices, housing construction in the US underwent a significant stall in spring 2020. And, like lumber prices, it is recovering steadily from severe lows. It’s very interesting to watch the trend of log prices as a result of this latest…