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 […]

Random Lengths is inviting feedback from the industry on pricing methodologies for Random Lengths and Random Lengths International as part of its annual methodology review process.

Price volatility in the Southern Pine lumber market eased markedly in 2023 from the pandemic-infused chaos evident in the three previous years. While most traders welcomed that trend, many lamented that the reduced volatility failed to make the market’s near-term shifts any easier to gauge. In fact, many veteran traders noted that coming trends were […]

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

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

Despite slower population growth and lower household formation rates, there remains a shortfall in the housing market, particularly for starter homes in North America

Fastmarkets hosted an insightful webinar on the future of southern yellow pine and its potential impact on the North American lumber industry. For those who missed it, here’s a breakdown of the key takeaways