The ongoing Federal Reserve rate stagnation is having a ripple effect across the wood products market and the broader economy, affecting everything from homebuying to the lumber industry

Explore the dynamic shifts in the US lumber export market and discover how global trends are influencing trade flows

What factors are driving the significant downturn in US housing starts, accompanied by a decrease in building permits?

U.S. housing starts in February posted a double-digit percentage increase month-over-month as construction picked up following a weather-related lull in January. Want to predict the future of the lumber market? Learn more about our short-term and long-term forecasts and asset analysis for the global forest products market today. Learn more. The Census Bureau reported total U.S. starts at […]

Steep declines in multifamily housing starts contributed to a disappointing finish for the 2023 Canadian housing market. According to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, November housing starts for all areas declined by 22% from last month. Starts were logged at an annualized rate of 212,624 units, down from 272,264 in October, a 19% drop […]

Softwood lumber traders worldwide begin 2024 with a glimmer of hope that a post-pandemic new normal might finally emerge after several years of upheaval. Plateauing interest rates and encouraging signs in the U.S. housing market in late 2023 provided a reason for guarded optimism in North America. U.S. and Canadian exports to China increased last […]

Another year is behind us, with no shortage of discussion topics when reflecting on the US residential construction and wood products markets in 2023. In many ways, the year played out how our team expected as we laid out in last year’s “Predictions” piece. Here is how our predictions played out throughout 2023: Want to […]

The US housing market has had an uneven go of it in 2023, as mortgage rates rose dramatically, soaring past 7.0% in August

Wood products sales are linked heavily to residential construction, and builders, with a keen awareness of the housing market, have not shown much confidence in recent months

Multifamily housing starts show some sign of life in late 2023, but the overall picture shows a different trend when compared to single-family