Author: kkosman

As delayed data releases out of the US catch up to usual schedule, recent indications out of China show a sizeable drop in log and lumber imports for full-year 2018. Traders report zero ordering and the ports have been choked with wood — some unsold — for at least a month. Next week the latest…

The number of single-family homes built-for-rent in the US increased over the course of 2018, as construction starts of this type of housing totaled 43,000 homes, compared to 37,000 for 2017. There were 10,000 single-family built-for-rent starts for 4Q 2018. According to data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design…

The latest issue of the Western Wood Products Association’s monthly Lumber Track, for full-year 2018, shows a +3.3% increase in US softwood lumber production volume, while that in Canada dropped by a similar ratio.US softwood lumber production in 2018 ended strong compared to the previous year, jumping by +3.3%, totalling 34,873 million board feet (MMBF)…

Video showing the data and functionality of the *new* Madison’s Lumber Price Reporter online dashboard tool: North America construction framing softwood lumber: 387 of the highest-volume, most commonly-traded, wood building materials wholesaler prices (net FOB sawmill) updated every Friday morning since 1952. Madison’s Lumber Price Reporter online dashboard tool: Quickstart User Guide: Madison’s Lumber Reporter…

The dreaded, seemingly never-ending, Canada / US softwood lumber dispute has again reared it’s ugly head in the form of an “administrative review” request to the US Commerce Department. This could be considered a regular bureaucratic function of any trade dispute. It could also, unfortunately, be used as a information-sucking mechanism; handled a certain way…