The enormous increases in the softwood lumber duty on Canadian wood shipments into the US finally arrived. This during a normal slower time for both housing construction activity and sawmill manufacturing. As hot summer weather across most of the continent sent folks off to vacation, lumber industry players worked out their responses to this additional…

Hot weather across many parts of the continent brought the usual slow-down in construction activity, as well as at manufacturing facilities. Workers fled both offices and industrial sites to enjoy some time off. Due to continuing weak inventories and generally diminished supply, lumber prices were mostly firm or slightly up. Sales volumes, however, were uninspiring.…

Into mid-July, softwood lumber buyers across the US and Canada had to cast a wide search to find wood. Only those with immediate needs made purchases, looking mostly at smaller producers and secondary suppliers. Discounts on Western-SPF low grade and industrial stock, which were slow to move, suddenly appeared on sawmill price lists. Sparse on-ground…

Following the dual national holiday long weekends for Canada and the US, sales of softwood lumber reached their usual mid-summer torpor. Most conversations were about the previously-announced sizeable increase in lumber duties on Canadian wood entering the US, expected to come in August. As true summer heat arrived in the east, Quebec entered its annual…

At the start of July, the dual Canada Day / US Independence Day long weekends brought a pause to lumber selling across North America. As well, logistics were quite challenging on the transportation side. Demand did perk up slightly, however customers were mindful of the looming increase to softwood lumber duties on Canadian wood. Sawmills…

2Q 2025 North America Lumber prices and Market update Softwood Lumber Prices and Market Conditions Update: Early-July 2025 Current lumber market and prices, in one tasty bite: To subscribe to Madison’s Lumber Reporter, simply fill out an order form here: https://madisonsreport.com/subscribe/ 🔍 Key insights include:– Real-time update of softwood lumber prices and supply chains– High-level…

A decidedly underwhelming 2025 spring building season slid into the usual summer slow-down for the North American lumber industry. Only the continued sawmill curtailments helped keep most prices generally flat, as demand remained uninspired at best. Customers made the rounds between producers and secondary suppliers in search of the best deals they could find. The…

Lumber producers kept manufacturing volumes lower to keep supply in line with still-muted demand. Capacity utilization rates at North America sawmills have been well below optimal levels for approximately 2 years, since rising interest rates brought slower home sales thus reduced new housing starts. Solid wood manufacturers prefer to keep production volumes higher, due to…