Wholesaler prices of benchmark dimension softwood lumber commodity Western Spruce-Pine-Fir KD 2×4 #2&Btr continued improvements over the previous week, after bottoming-out to astonishing lows in 2018, to close last week at US$346 mfbm, a $8 or +2.3% pop from the week before. Trading for the May contract on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange was at the…

Last week, the Canadian Transportation Agency flexed its newly enhanced authority under the 2018 Transportation Modernization Act and launched an investigation into whether rail companies are fulfilling their obligations following industry complaints, with hearings set for next week.In an email to Globe and Mail, Canadian National Railway acknowledged the recent congestion on the West Coast.…

The DP World facility, situated near Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada, is one of three container terminals at the Port of Vancouver, accounting for 20% of its total freight movement, according to Port Technology Monday.In order to increase its annual container handling capacity from 900,000 TEU to 1.5 million, a project has been launched to…

Canada’s two major railways are rationing space on trains travelling to the country’s biggest port and recently prioritized some commodities over others to deal with congestion, the latest indication of their struggle to meet demand from new trade deals, said the Financial Post via Reuters Monday.That move prompted Canada’s transport regulator last week to start…

Canadian and US construction framing dimension softwood lumber prices generally stayed firm last week, while panel prices corrected upward by a noticeable margin. In dimension lumber, benchmark commodity Western Spruce-Pine-Fir KD 2×4 #2&Btr reversed huge drops into the end of 2018 to close last week at US$338 mfbm, a $10 or 3% pop from the…

In 2017, China imported US$8.83 billion of total lumber products from the United States, according to the World Bank. However, 2018 saw China impose a 10% retaliatory tariff on US lumber products and threatened a larger 25% tariff on US$60 billion of total US goods, said Freight Waves Freight Waves Tuesday. The United States has…

The International Code Council (ICC) December 21 released the unofficial voting results on US building code change proposals considered in 2018, including passage of the entire package of 14 tall mass timber code change proposals, clearing the way for their inclusion in the 2021 International Building Code (IBC). Taken together, the 14 tall mass timber…

US #softwood #lumber production in October recovered from sharp drops in September data, leaping by +14% compared to the month prior and popping +4% from October 2018, according to statistics from the Western Wood Products Association’s Lumber Track, released Monday. US lumber production totalled 3,119 million board feet (MMBF) in October compared to 2,737 MMBF…

As 2019 softwood lumber selling resumed following the holiday break, prices of quite a few standard construction framing dimension lumber commodities remained flat while others popped up or dropped down slightly depending in supply and customer inventories in the field. Producers and resellers received plenty of calls for inquiry, but booked much fewer sales as…

By Kéta Kosman, Publisher and Editor, Madison’s Lumber Reporter January 10, 2019 OVERVIEW: Year-End Arrived as North American Forest Industry Closed 2018 Smoothly The wacky year of 2018 ended smoothly for North American forestry operators, as the usual seasonal curtailments, maintenance shutdowns, and inventory control took place at the end of December 2018. Prices on…

In data released just Thursday, railway carloads of forest products in Canada are down somewhat in October 2018 compared to one year ago. US data, meanwhile, out for full-year 2018, also shows a decrease in forest products moving on railways. Both countries had substantial reductions in 2018 from 2016 volumes of railway carloadings for wood…

NORTH AMERICA LUMBER MARKET OVERVIEW: Dec 2018 This wacky year ended smoothly for North American forestry operators, as the usual seasonal curtailments, maintenance shutdowns, and inventory control took place at the end of December 2018. Prices on most construction framing softwood lumber commodities stayed flat from the previous week, or moderated downward slightly. Most players…

Watching inventory helps understand the housing market: US housing for sale inventory, on a national basis, was up +2.8% year-over-year (YoY) in October, this was the third consecutive YoY increase, following over three years of YoY declines, explained Calculated Risk Tuesday. Elsewhere, Zillow data shows the number of available homes increased by +3% year-over-year, making…

EUS existing-home sales increased in November, according to the National Association of Realtors® Wednesday, marking two consecutive months of increases. Three of four major US regions saw gains in sales activity last month. Total existing-home sales, completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased +1.9% from October to a seasonally adjusted rate of…

 The pace of single-family starts in the US declined for the third consecutive month as housing affordability concerns continue to weigh on the home construction market, according to a joint data release from the US Census Bureau and HUD Tuesday.  Total starts posted a +3.2% increase due to gains for multifamily development. The November rate of…