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. Usually single family investment is the top category, although home improvement was the top category for five consecutive years following the housing bust. Then investment…

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The business of producing construction framing dimension softwood lumber in British Columbia just Got More Interesting: Great Pacific Capital Corporation, which already owns 51 per cent of shares in Canfor, will purchase the remaining 49 per cent at $16 each, in a deal that is estimated at more than $980 million. A special committee of lumber giant Canfor’s board has approved an almost $1-billion offer from a Jim Pattison company to take full control of the company. Late Monday night, Canfor issued a…

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The business of producing construction framing dimension softwood lumber in British Columbia just Got More Interesting: British Columbia has approved the transfer of Conifex’s forest licence in the Fort St. James, BC, area to Fort St. James Forest Products, a subsidiary of Hampton Lumber Mills. Conifex announced the $39 million sale in June, pending provincial approval. Conifex had suspended operations at its Fort St. James mill, putting more than 200 people out of work and prompting the district to declare…

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Average US House Sales Price vs Benchmark North American Construction Framing Dimension Softwood Lumber Prices: 3Q 2019 US house prices rose in August, up +0.2 percent from the previous month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI).  House prices rose +4.6 percent from August 2018 to August 2019.  The previously reported +0.4 percent increase for July 2019 remains unchanged. Median US House Sales Price vs Benchmark North American Construction Framing Dimension Softwood Lumber Prices: 3Q 2019 The…

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After rising +$2 last week, the price of benchmark softwood lumber item Western Spruce-Pine-Fir KD 2×4 #2&Btr climbed further this week, Oct 24, 2019, up +$8 to US$378 mfbm; Utility/#3 grade 2×4 gained +$8 to US$250 mfbm.

The full 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 dropping -$8 last week, The price of benchmark softwood lumber item Western Spruce-Pine-Fir KD 2×4 #2&Btr rose +$2 this week to US$370 mfbm; Utility/#3 regains the +$12 it lost last week to US$242 mfbm. This week’s lumber market story published to the website Wednesday: https://madisonsreport.com/2019/10/16/benchmark-softwood-lumber-price-loses-ground-specialty-item-prices-tank/ : “The price of benchmark…

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The latest issue of the Western Wood Products Association’s monthly Lumber Track, for January-July 2019, shows a -0.1% decrease in US softwood lumber production volume from the same time last year, to 20,687 mmfbm. January – July softwood lumber production in Canada increased drops through most of this year, down by another -10%, to 14,720 mmfbm, compared to the first seven months of 2018 when it was 16,371 mmfbm. In British Columbia, significant sawmill curtailments brought another huge drop in…

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The US construction sector hiring rate, as measured on a twelve-month moving average basis, held steady at 5.3% in August 2019. The twelve-month moving average for layoffs ticked up to 2.5%, continuing a rising trend in recent months. Data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) indicate that construction job openings increased in August. The estimated number of job openings in the construction sector increased to 379,000 after reaching a post-Great Recession high of 434,000 in April. The August…

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The PPI report shows that softwood lumber prices increased +3.8% in September 2019—the index’s largest percentage increase since prices rose +4.8% in June 2018. Prices have fallen -8.7% over the last 12 months but remain nearly +15% higher than they were in 2016. Prices paid for goods used in residential construction in the US decreased by -0.3% in September according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Building materials prices have declined an average of…

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The full North America softwood lumber price list will be updated as usual first thing tomorrow morning Eastern time, however here is a sneak peak at benchmark WSPF prices: After waffling up and down $6 over the past two weeks, the price of standard 2x4s remain flat this week at US$376 mfbm; Utility/#3 loses another $12 from last week. This week’s lumber market story published to the website Tuesday: Softwood Lumber Prices Moderate Nicely, Truck Loggers Descend on Vancouver, BC…

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