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US New Home Sales, Home Ownership: June and 2Q 2018
Contracts for new, single-family home sales declined in June, falling -5.3% to a 631,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate according to estimates from the joint release of HUD and the US Census Bureau Wednesday last week. The decline came off a downwardly revised May estimate, which was dropped from an initial read of 689,000 to a new estimate of…
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A Steadier Supply-Demand Balance for Looming August Lumber Market
The supply-demand balance situation became much more clear this month for North American solid wood operators. Also, end-users have updates on field inventories both at producers and with secondary resellers. As the market was better able to determine how much construction framing dimension lumber is in the supply chain compared to immediate future building needs,…
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British Columbia Forestry Worker Strike Vote
About 1,500 sawmill workers impacting 13 sites in northern British Columbia are expected to take a strike vote sometime in the next week or so, said the Williams Lake Tribune Tuesday last week. The move could impact all of Tolko Industries’ employees in the north (including both mills in Williams Lake, BC), half of all…
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US Softwood Lumber Production: April 2018
Softwood lumber production by US sawmills in the first four months of 2018 was 11.6 billion board ft. (bbf), a year-over-year increase of +5.5% from 10.980 bbf in the same period last year, reported the Western Wood Products Association in its latest Lumber Track report via IHB Monday. Western US sawmills contributed 4.899 bbf to…
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Lumber Prices Sharply Reverse Recent Increases, Inventories Grow
Both producers and secondaries now have more plump inventories than most of this year, making assessments of their own price lists somewhat easier. Buyers, well aware of this, are pushing back at sawmills with significant counter-offers. Those suppliers in a position to negotiate are accepting customer demands. Prices are responding toward accordingly. This week and…
