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 in September. For the first ten months of 2018, US lumber production totalled 29,760 MMBF, showing a similar increase to the previous time period at +4.4%. For January to October 2018, US production in the West continued it’s previous improvements, jumping another +5.5%, while output in the South also built on previous improvements, again by +3.5 per cent.
Elsewhere, drops in Canadian #softwood #lumber production slowed to -1.8% compared to the first ten months of 2017, said the Western Wood Products Association’s monthly Lumber Track Monday, at 23,448 million board feet versus 23,886 million in January to October the previous year.
Canada and US Sawmill Capacity Utilization Rates: October 2018
The Western Wood Products Association’s monthly Lumber Track, released Monday puts Canadian lumber production as a percent of practical capacity for January to October 2018 down by -2% compared to the same time in 2017, at 90% from 88%.
In the US meanwhile, sawmill capacity utilization rates continued trend for most of the year by gaining +1%, to 87%, in the first ten months of 2018 compared to the same time the previous year. In October 2018, sawmills in the US operated at 87% of capacity, compared to 88% in October 2018, said the WWPA.
