The latest data, released by Statistics Canada Thursday, shows lumber production in Canada fell -1.5 per cent in January to August 2018 compared to one year earlier, with sawmills producing 50,389 thousand cubic metres of lumber, compared to 51,125 thousand cubic metres for the first eight months of 2017. In separate data released by Statistics Canada also Thursday, sawmill sales for Quebec, Alberta, and British Columbia combined in January to August 2018 increased +9.9 per cent to $10.1 billion, compared to $9.1 billion…

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A topsy-turvey North American softwood lumber market righted itself somewhat last week even as large numbers of lumber traders descended on Chicago, IL, for the annual North American Wholesale Lumbermen’s Association (NAWLA) convention. Scuttlebutt from that important event is that the Canadians were most interested in exports to Asia, especially China. Prices on most construction framing lumber commodities corrected upward after terrifying drops since Labour Day. It is true that for most of this year demand from the US for…

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North America softwood lumber and panel current and recent historical prices trend: 2-month bar charts:  

The latest quarterly report Madison’s has been producing this year for the federal government of Canada has found some interesting new developments in the market dynamics of producing and selling softwood lumber products. It is encouraging that Madison’s findings are this very week corroborated by analysts at Export Development Canada: Export economist predicts China to surpass U.S. as B.C.’s top timber market — Vancouver Sun “By volume, B.C.’s exports to China peaked in 2013 when timber companies sold 7.9 million…

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US #softwood #lumber production reversed it’s decrease last month, climbing a spectacular +9.0 per cent in August compared to the month prior and continued improvements over the previous year by growing another +2.0 per cent from August 2017, according to statistics from the Western Wood Products Association’s Lumber Track. US lumber production totaled 2,908 million board feet (MMBF) in August. For the first eight months of 2018, US lumber production totalled 23,885 MMBF, a jump of +5.2 per cent from…

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The North America softwood lumber market ended October 2018 in a complete reversal to the rest of the year, and indeed most of 2017. Inventories were plump, customers were silent, producers were just starting to announce seasonal downtime, and secondary suppliers had an abundance of wood on hand. At sawmills, log supply was ample. Sales phones rang infrequently, and orders were mostly for small volumes of fill-in lumber for immediate needs only. The below table is a comparison of June…

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On Wednesday, October 24, all 14 proposals from the Ad Hoc Committee on Tall Wood Buildings were approved by large margins at the International Code Council (ICC) public comment hearings in Richmond, VA. The Softwood Lumber Board (SLB) commends the American Wood Council (AWC) and its effort in this specially funded initiative by the SLB, the AWC, and the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities. Mass timber includes any product currently permitted for use in Type IV construction, such as…

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Employees represented by United Steelworkers 1-2017 joined those negotiating in the north with employer group CONIFER last week, by walking off the job Friday morning in Williams Lake, BC, at Tolko’s Soda Creek Division and West Fraser’s Planer, said My Prince George Now. For background info please read: Northern British Columbia Sawmill Workers on Strike: Oct 25, 2018 This new rotating strike in Williams Lake affects more than 200 workers. Talks are scheduled between USW and Interior Forest Labour Relations…

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A very good indicator of current construction activity, thus future lumber prices, is US construction spending. New data out this week from the US Commerce Department shows construction spending flat in September 2018 after a 0.8 per cent rise in August, said the New York Times Thursday. Spending on US construction projects was essentially unchanged in September, the weakest showing since June, as an increase in home construction was offset by a slide in spending on government projects. The strength last…

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Further to Madison’s story yesterday about the south interior of British Columbia issuing a 72-hour strike notice United Steelworkers Issue 72-hour Strike Notice to IFLRA This morning comes word that Negotiations between Conifer and the United Steelworkers Union representing sawmill workers across Northern BC have cooled for the time being, said My Prince George Now. However, the action is starting to heat up further south according to 1 – 2017 Local President Brian O’Rourke. “The three mills in the southern…

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