As the North American softwood lumber market settled into “normal” — whatever the new normal is, we are still discovering that — prices on various construction framing commodities adjusted according to new production practices at sawmills and new buying habits of customers. One plain example of this is big drops in #3/Utility and #4/Economy prices for Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2×4 to 2×10 a couple of months ago. For the week of July 20, Madison’s Lumber Reporter printed down $94 on WSPF…

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Hurricane Florence forced lumber sawmills and paper mills in the Carolinas to close temporarily as strong winds and a deluge of rain hit the coast, said Bloomberg Friday. Producers are racing to secure equipment and sites as Florence makes landfall, said Ewell Smith, executive director of the Carolina Loggers Association to Bloomberg. Companies from Domtar Corp. to Canfor Corp. shut facilities that may suffer damage. “It’s a massive threat” with the industry accounting for US$29 billion in North Carolina’s economy,…

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Despite its request to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Canada’s Shake and Shingle Alliance was told the country’s shake and shingle industry would not be exempt from U.S. tariffs against softwood lumber, reported Canadian Forest Industries magazine Thursday. The Alliance asked the Commerce Department in June to review which products would be affected by the duties after the price of shakes and shingles increased suddenly by more than 20 per cent in March.The Alliance argues that its members’ cedar products…

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Softwood lumber production in Canada continued it’s drop from last year, falling another -1.7% in January to June 2018, from 14,560 million board feet to 14,316 mmfbm for the same time last year, said the Western Wood Products Association’s monthly Lumber Track Tuesday In the US, softwood lumber production stayed on an upward trajectory for the first six months of 2018, improving by another +5.1%, at 17,758 million board feet, versus 16,898 mmfbm in January to June of the previous…

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A series of powerful storms approaching the US east coast this very week has locals in emergency mode and authorities warning of possible heavy damage. As these severe climate scenarios across North America continue to unfold so rapidly one after the other; first wildfires then almost immediately floods and storms, home and property owners alike will be needing to protect their structures with sheets of plywood panel, then rebuild and re-roof with lumber and other materials. The latest data over…

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Following the Labour Day long weekend in Canada and the US, forest industry professionals came back to their desks this week to lumber prices further stabilized over the massive volatility of earlier this year. Very robust US new home building and remodelling — that most had not predicted last year — continues to drive unrelenting demand for construction framing lumber. Customers, however, know that sawmills have been producing in high gear for this whole year, so are easily put off…

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This week the Economic Services Branch of the British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development released both the annual Economic State of B.C.’s Forest Sector for 2017 and the latest data on BC forest products exports, for January to July 2018: 2017 Economic State of the British Columbia Forest Sector https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/farming-natural-resources-and-industry/forestry/forest-industry-economics/economic-state/2017_economic_state_of_bc_forest_sector-with_appendix.pdf   British Columbia Forest Product Exports: July 2018 https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/farming-natural-resources-and-industry/forestry/forest-industry-economics/forest-product-exports/bc_forest_export_report-july_2018.pdf Highlights for Year-to-Date (YTD) • B.C. total forestry export values are up +8.3% for 2018…

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As Madison’s continues moving forward with delivering weekly North American Madison’s Lumber Prices via Forest2Market‘s  SilvaStat360, we remind customers that — now that Random Lengths has jumped into the arms of RISI in a vain attempt to catch up with the fabulous work Madison’s has already done this year — the first thing that will happen is Crow’s Market Weekly will be closed. When the other guys do manage to catch up to Madison’s existing added value, in delivering lumber prices through the Euromoney dashboard, the charge…

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In a very interesting metric that provides excellent forecast to future US home prices, according to Construction Wire, as home prices rise across the US, choosing to rent has become increasingly popular. New analysis by realtor.com® reveals the monthly costs of buying a home have risen by 14% over the past year. This is more than three times the 4% increase in monthly rental costs. Additionally, this analysis found that the number of places where it is cheaper to buy…

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A seemingly incomprehensible North America softwood lumber market in 2018 continued it’s recent stabilization to end this pre-Labour Day holiday week somewhat moderated over last week. In the past week softwood lumber futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange have swing between US$425 and US$450, which provided little additional insight to this puzzling year but at least wasn’t as wild a range as it has been. Also, contract closures are approaching closer to cash. Madison’s still affirms that the new bottom…

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