The Association of American Railroads (AAR) Wednesday reported US and Canadian rail traffic volumes for November 2020. US railroads originated 900,194 carloads in November 2020, down -6%, or 55,198 carloads, from November 2019. US railroads also originated 1,136,695 containers and trailers in November 2020, up +11.5%, or 116,915 units, from the same month last year. Total US carload traffic for the first 11 months of 2020 was 10,380,769 carloads, down -14%, or 1,663,263 carloads, from the same period last year;…

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US housing starts were mostly flat in 2019. At this time last year softwood lumber sales improved markedly and prices started to rise from quite low levels. As the beginning of 2020 came on, the data on US home building was much improved over the previous year, sending demand for construction framing dimension softwood lumber higher. Sawmills and other lumber industry players were quite encouraged as to what the US home building market would do come spring.Usually this time of…

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The AR1 Results of Final Review have been published in today’s (11/30/2020) issue of the Federal Register confirming the effective date (today) the adjusted subsidy (AD) rates can be used going forward, until further notice, as the AD Cash Deposits.  However, as was the case with the DOC’s Preliminary instructions in 2017, the adjusted CVD rates are not yet effective.

October 2020 US new home sales numbers are +42% higher year-over-year while the September revision indicates two consecutive months of more than 1 million sales, a feat not reached since 2006. US new home sales in October dipped -0.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 999,000 units last month, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. September’s sales pace was revised higher to 1.002 million units from the previously reported 959,000 units. The all time high for October was 105 thousand…

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US Commerce Dept Preliminary Ruling Significantly Lowers Canada’s Softwood Lumber Duty On February 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce released its preliminary determination for the First Administrative Review (AR1) in antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of imports of certain softwood lumber products from Canada. The final determination by the US Commerce Dept on Canada’s softwood lumber duty rate was supposed be in August but was delayed until November. At that time duty rates could be lowered…

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The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price NSA Index reported Tuesday a +7% annual gain in September 2020, up from +5.8% in August. Adding to pressure on home prices is the ever shrinking supply of homes for sale, already at a record low. Inventory fell to a 2.5-month supply at the end of October, according to the National Association of Realtors. While single-family home construction is rising slowly, it is not even close to meeting the demand, especially in…

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Just unbelievable for this time of year and if someone had predicted it a month ago they would have been met with derisive laughter, but lumber prices were actually up last week as demand increased. This is absolutely unprecedented for the week before US Thanksgiving and sawmills simply do not have enough wood in their yards to sell to ravenous customers.As one large-scale lumber trader put it at the beginning of this week, “Customers who were reluctant to book orders…

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US house prices rise by the most since 1991 as US mortgage lenders record their biggest quarter in two decades To see the latest data on softwood lumber prices and US housing starts please go here. The median price for previously owned homes has hit a new record at US$313,000, up +16% from a year ago, the US National Association of Realtors said Thursday. There are fewer homes for sale in the US today than ever recorded in data going back nearly…

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US Housing Total Starts October 2020 & Benchmark Softwood Lumber Prices November 2020 New home building in the US surged up by +5% to an annual rate of 1.530 million in October 2020 after soaring by +6.3% to an upwardly revised rate of 1.459 million in September. As in previous months, the increase was driven by single-family starts, which rose by +6.4% to 1.18 million. Compared to the same month a year ago, US housing starts in October 2020 were…

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The latest housing starts report by the US Commerce Department, released Wednesday, said new home building in the US surged up by +5% to an annual rate of 1.530 million in October 2020 after soaring by +6.3% to an upwardly revised rate of 1.459 million in September. US housing starts continue to defy expectations in October 2020 As in previous months, the increase was driven by single-family starts, which rose by +6.4% to 1.18 million. By contrast, starts in the…

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