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US Construction Materials Prices: March 2019
Prices paid for goods used in US residential construction increased +1.5% in March according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Thursday. Prices have risen more quickly thus far in 2019 than they did during the same period in 2018 and are at their highest level since last…
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Softwood Lumber Anti-Dumping Duty: WTO Ruling Explained
As usual with the seemingly-permanent Softwood Lumber Dispute between Canada and the US, the latest trade ruling brings up more questions than it resolves. An almost undecipherable ruling out of the World Trade Organization on softwood lumber this week caused some great confusion, in no small part because it is both for and against both…
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US and Canada Railway Carloadings: March & Jan 2019
US rail traffic continued its slump in March, falling -5.2% to 2,022,934 carloads and intermodal units compared with volumes in March 2018, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data released April 5. In it’s latest release, issued Wednesday, AAR reported US rail traffic for the week ending April 6, 2019, at 510,192 carloads and…
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WTO Panel Finds US Softwood Anti-Dumping Duties in Violation
The World Trade Organization Tuesday said the US violated international trade rules in the way it calculated tariffs on Canadian imports of softwood lumber in a key dispute ruling published on the WTO website. The decision also provided a boost to the US’s use of a controversial methodology used when calculating anti-dumping duties on Canadian…
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Softwood Lumber Prices Continue Soft During the Usual Busy Buying Season
Softwood lumber industry players continued wondering last week where the market was, as many prices softened further and the usual spring buying spree has yet not materialized. Sales volumes were OK, according to both sawmills and secondary suppliers, but — once again — no one was stocking inventory. This makes lumber producers wary; if some…
