Author: kkosman

  • Madison’s Western SPF Lumber Prices Nov 7: sneak preview

    The full Madison’s Lumber Reporter North America softwood lumber price list will be updated as usual first thing Friday morning Eastern time, however here is a sneak peak at benchmark WSPF prices: After jumping another +$18 last week, The price of benchmark softwood lumber item Western Spruce-Pine-Fir KD 2×4 #2&Btr stayed flat this week, Nov…

  • US Construction Job Openings, Construction Spending: Sept 2019

    Data released Monday from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) indicate that construction job openings in the US increased in September 2019 on a year-over-year basis. The estimated number of job openings declined from the August total to 338,000 in September, after reaching a post-Great Recession high of 434,000 in April. The September 2019…

  • Softwood Lumber Prices Pop Higher as Seasonal Winter Slow-Down Looms

    Veteran solid wood processors and sellers like to say, “Labour Day is the beginning of the end, and US Thanksgiving is the end of the end” for large-volume lumber sales. The business of manufacturing and distributing North American construction framing dimension softwood lumber is directly tied to US home building and remodelling activity. As darkness…

  • US Housing Market Share of GDP: 3Q 2019

    US GDP 3Q 2019 data shows investment was weak again. Yet residential investment picked up, at a 5.1% annual rate. The US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported that investment in US non-residential structures decreased at a 15.3% annual pace in 3Q 2019. Lodging investment decreased in 3Q, but lodging investment is up 6% year-over-year.…

  • US Housing Share of GDP: 3Q 2019

    After declines for six consecutive quarters, the home building component of gross domestic product (GDP) in the US increased during 3Q 2019. This gain was due to the housing rebound that has taken hold since the spring, with the pace of single-family permits rising since April and the rate of single-family starts increasing since May.…