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Category: Lumber News

North America Softwood Lumber Production, Sawmill Capacity Utilization, WWPA: February 2019

North America Softwood Lumber Production, Sawmill Capacity Utilization, WWPA: February 2019

The latest issue of the Western Wood Products Association’s monthly Lumber Track, for January-February 2019, shows a +2.1% increase in US softwood lumber production volume, to 5,780 mmfbm, compared to 5,659 million board feet (mmfbm) for the first two months of last year. There was a +3.3% increase for full-year 2018. January – February softwood lumber production in Canada dropped by -10.5%, to 4,084 mmfbm, compared to Jan-Feb 2018 when it was 4,562 mmfbm. In British Columbia lumber production continued…

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US Construction Materials Prices: March 2019

US Construction Materials Prices: March 2019

Prices paid for goods used in US residential construction increased +1.5% in March according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Thursday. Prices have risen more quickly thus far in 2019 than they did during the same period in 2018 and are at their highest level since last October. The average January-to-March increase since 2000 is +1.1%. The downward trend in prices paid for gypsum products continued in March, as prices declined -0.3%….

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Georgia Pacific Builds $150-million US Sawmill

Georgia Pacific Builds $150-million US Sawmill

US paper and building products manufacturer Georgia-Pacific LLC is investing US$150 million to open a new sawmill in Albany, GA, as the firm expands its production of softwood lumber, a company press release announced Tuesday. Georgia-Pacific to Build $150-million Sawmill Paper and building products manufacturer Georgia-Pacific LLC is investing US$150 million to open a new mill in Albany, GA as the firm expands its production of softwood lumber, a company press release announced Tuesday. Slated to commence operations by the end of 2018, the…

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RISI, owner of Crow’s Market Weekly, buys Random Lengths Softwood Lumber Publishing

RISI, owner of Crow’s Market Weekly, buys Random Lengths Softwood Lumber Publishing

It was quite surprising to Madison’s this week to learn that RISI has bought Random Lengths: https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/risi-announces-acquisition-of-random-lengths-1027426671 RISI already runs Crow’s Market Weekly: https://www.risiinfo.com/product/crows-market-price-service/ Madison’s wonders how a single company is planning to put out two competing publications at the same time? This, after RISI itself having it’s European offices raided for securities breach in February: https://www.ft.com/content/67a90bb2-faa2-11e7-9b32-d7d59aace167 As always, Madison’s Lumber Reporter is the best, the most accurate, the most on-time source for all North American construction framing softwood lumber…

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US New Home Sales, Home Ownership: June and 2Q 2018

US New Home Sales, Home Ownership: June and 2Q 2018

Contracts for new, single-family home sales declined in June, falling -5.3% to a 631,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate according to estimates from the joint release of HUD and the US Census Bureau Wednesday last week. The decline came off a downwardly revised May estimate, which was dropped from an initial read of 689,000 to a new estimate of 666,000. US Home Ownership, New Home Sales According to the US Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey (HVS), released Thursday, the US homeownership rate was 64.3%…

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A Steadier Supply-Demand Balance for Looming August Lumber Market

A Steadier Supply-Demand Balance for Looming August Lumber Market

The supply-demand balance situation became much more clear this month for North American solid wood operators. Also, end-users have updates on field inventories both at producers and with secondary resellers. As the market was better able to determine how much construction framing dimension lumber is in the supply chain compared to immediate future building needs, prices on almost all commodity items dropped significantly. Where sawmill order files had been five weeks or longer one month ago, they were now —…

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British Columbia Forestry Worker Strike Vote

British Columbia Forestry Worker Strike Vote

About 1,500 sawmill workers impacting 13 sites in northern British Columbia are expected to take a strike vote sometime in the next week or so, said the Williams Lake Tribune Tuesday last week. The move could impact all of Tolko Industries’ employees in the north (including both mills in Williams Lake, BC), half of all of Canfor’s work force located in Fort St. John, Houston, Isle Pierre and Prince George, as well as the West Fraser planer in Williams Lake,…

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US Softwood Lumber Production: April 2018

US Softwood Lumber Production: April 2018

Softwood lumber production by US sawmills in the first four months of 2018 was 11.6 billion board ft. (bbf), a year-over-year increase of +5.5% from 10.980 bbf in the same period last year, reported the Western Wood Products Association in its latest Lumber Track report via IHB Monday. Western US sawmills contributed 4.899 bbf to the four-month total, up +10% from 4.4 bbf a year earlier, while production at southern US sawmills gained +2.1% to reach 6.1 bbf, up from…

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US Existing Home Sales: June 2018

US Existing Home Sales: June 2018

Existing-home sales in the US decreased -0.6% in June to a level 2.2% below a year ago, and sales have now decreased year-over-year for three consecutive months. The first-time buyer share of 31% was unchanged from last month, but down from 32% a year ago. The National Association of Realtors reported today (Monday) that 58% of homes sold in June were on the market less than a month, unchanged from May. US Existing Home Sales Existing-home sales in the US…

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US Housing Starts: June 2018

US Housing Starts: June 2018

Not very surprisingly, US housing starts corrected downward somewhat for June, as housing inventory for sale continues to shrink and home prices continue to rise. U.S. new-home groundbreaking and permits fell in June to the slowest paces in nine months, as higher mortgage rates and elevated costs for labor and materials pinch the housing market, government figures showed Wednesday. Housing starts in the US tumbled -12.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.173 million units last month, the lowest…

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