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US Housing Starts, Home Sales, House Prices, Inventory: May 2018
Total housing starts in the US increased in May with gains in both the single-family and multifamily sectors. Starts increased +5% month-over-month to a 1.35 million seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to a joint data release June 19 from the US Census Bureau and HUD. This pace is a post-recession high. The rate of single-family…
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It’s a Brand-New, Uncharted World for Softwood Lumber Prices
A waffling North American softwood lumber market started to settle down last week, as the Madison’s price graphs showed in our previous issue. On May 2 this year, Madison’s took the bold step — and one we do not tread upon lightly — of declaring a new floor on prices of benchmark North American softwood…
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US Construction Jobs Openings: March 2018
The count of unfilled jobs in the US construction sector was effectively unchanged in April, remaining near post-Great Recession high levels. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) and National Association of Home Builders’ analysis, released June 5, the number of open construction sector jobs came…
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Huge Correction on the Softwood Lumber Futures Board, Cash Might Be Wallowing
A huge sell-off of futures this week took no one by surprise, then on Thursday a reversal to positive trades brought settlement this week to approximately US$555 but on minimal volume. In cash, prices wallowed at close to last week’s levels, with significant adjustments on some specific items as price sheets stabilized. The long-awaited…
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North America Softwood Lumber Production, Sawmill Capacity: March 2018
Softwood lumber production in Canada dropped -2.4% in January to March 2018, from 7,249 million board feet to 7,074 mmfbm for the same time last year, said the Western Wood Products Association’s monthly Lumber Track Wednesday, In the US, softwood lumber production increased by +2.7%, at 8,557 million board feet versus 8,333 million the first…
