Kevin Mason
The headline numbers coming out of the US continue to point to a robust economy, but the K-shaped bifurcation between income brackets is undeniable. The steady decline (and recent collapse) in real disposable income is concerning. There are many factors that contribute to an individual’s disposable income. Rising energy costs have been a big factor of late (gas prices predominantly), but disposable income was in decline far before its recent dip into negative territory. Inflation has outstripped wage growth in many parts of the private sector, with households often having to tap into savings and/or take on debt to support spending. Another challenge has been high interest rates, and that shows up in the housing market (as well as autos).
…After showing impressive resilience through the first four months of the year, US housing starts capitulated in May, slumping to a seasonally adjusted 1.18MM units (their lowest level since May 2020 at the onset of the pandemic). Single-family starts came in at 882,000, off by 2% m/m and 7% y/y, while multifamily activity was off by a whopping 40% m/m and 14% y/y at just 295,000. That adjusted multifamily number was the lowest reading since November 2024 and came as a shock after multis had decisively outperformed singles through the first four months of the year (averaging an adjusted 478,000 over that period). …To round off a dismal month, home sales data for May gave little reason for optimism. Looking first at new home sales, May’s total of 580,000 (adjusted) was off 7% both m/m and y/y.
The Trump administration’s decision to forgo renewal of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on the July 1 deadline has opened a new front in the ongoing trade war — and one with direct consequences for US homebuilders and the mortgage professionals who serve them. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer confirmed on Wednesday that the three countries met virtually for the required joint review and that the US declined to extend the agreement in its current form. The USMCA remains in effect until 2036 but will now be subject to annual reviews that could force significant renegotiation of major sections of the treaty, a development that has rattled an already strained construction supply chain. …Canadian softwood lumber already carries a combined duty burden of 45%. That cost has steadily compressed builder margins even as new home demand remains sluggish and housing starts have declined every year since their 2021 peak.
The Trump administration surprised no one with its long-expected announcement Wednesday that the U.S. would not join Canada and Mexico in extending the free trade deal between the three countries. Where things go from here, however, with renegotiating the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement is anyone’s guess. One thing is certain: the deal remains in effect while the negotiations happen, as it doesn’t expire for another 10 years. The only circumstance that would change that is an official six-month notice of withdrawal, something Trump has stopped short of threatening to do. Domestic political concerns keep the White House from scrapping the trade agreement, according to Simon Lester, a trade expert at Rice University in Houston, Texas. He says CUSMA has broad support from Republicans in Congress, particularly those from agricultural states. …On paper, according to the text of CUSMA, the three sides could now enter a perpetual series of renegotiations every year.
Corporate bosses are more relaxed about tariffs now than at any time since US President Trump’s return to power unleashed a spate of trade policy chaos. The share of corporate earnings calls in which tariffs were mentioned has fallen to the lowest level since Mr. Trump won the 2024 election, according to an analysis of transcripts. …The same pattern has played out on both sides of the border, even though companies have plenty of reasons to remain anxious on the trade front. The USMCA is set to enter uncharted territory on July 1. …Steep sectoral duties remain in place. …Meanwhile, Mr. Trump is expected to launch a wave of hefty tariffs next month to replace temporary duties he imposed after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his earlier emergency tariffs. [to access the full story a Globe and Mail subscription is required]
WASHINGTON – President Trump said he hasn’t decided whether he will sign a bipartisan housing bill, dismissing the landmark affordable housing legislation as “a big yawn” and “so unimportant” compared to an unrelated bill he supports to overhaul voting in elections. Trump told reporters on Monday, June 29 that he won’t make a decision on The 21st Century Road to Housing Act until it arrives on his desk. The president abruptly canceled a signing ceremony last week for the housing bill and said he won’t sign it until Congress passes the SAVE America Act ‒ a stalled bill he backs that would require photo identification and proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections and prohibit universal mail-in voting across the country. …The housing bill is the first major piece of legislation that passed Congress in more than three decades to address the nation’s affordable housing crisis.
Two new inspections into kraft pulp and paper mills in Washington have been opened, following ongoing investigations at the Nippon Dynawave mill where a tank failure killed 11 workers. The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries said investigations are going on at two other active paper mills in the state that use the same process, where caustic chemical compounds are used to help break down wood into pulp for paper product manufacturing. In the weeks following the implosion of a massive tank at the paper mill that spilled hundreds of thousands of gallons of chemicals – believed to be the deadliest industrial accident in state history – managers of similar operations have been dialing up their insurance brokers to find out how well they’re protected. One investigation is occurring at a mill run by Smurfit Westrock, also in Longview. The other, run by Port Townsend Paper Company, is in Port Townsend.
The U.S. goods trade deficit is widening, the Commerce Department said Friday, suggesting stockpiling ahead of higher tariffs and a continued reliance on imports for the domestic data center rollout, analysts say. The goods trade deficit for May jumped more than $20 billion to $105.8 billion, up from $83 billion in April, according to 
A new federal rule will tighten hazardous-air-pollutant standards for plywood and composite wood products plants, including dryers, presses, refiners and lumber kilns. The 
OREGON — The federal government has released its long-awaited proposal to triple logging across three national forests in northeast Oregon and southeast Washington. But critics say the Trump administration’s effort to boost a flagging timber industry in the Blue Mountains could ultimately harm another key pillar of the local economy: Elk hunting. It could also push elk out of forests onto private land, where the animals could damage crops and other property, according to a regional manager with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The federal government’s plans for the Blue Mountains, which were released in draft form Thursday, could shape logging, recreation and environmental protections across 4.9 million acres spanning the Malheur, Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman national forests for the next 15 years. …And more roads are likely to mean fewer elk. …People can weigh in on the 
Demand for biofuels has been growing in many parts of the world. …Disruption to oil exports via the Strait of Hormuz this year created a further incentive to switch to biofuels to ensure energy security. While biofuels can’t fully replace petroleum, they can be blended into gasoline and diesel, allowing countries to stretch existing fuel supplies. Many environmentalists contest the idea that biofuels are a sustainable alternative source of energy. And as more farmland is used to produce them, there’s less available to make food, increasing the risk of global food shortages and hunger in the poorest nations. …The priciest biofuel is sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, which uses advanced refining processes to convert waste oils into jet fuel that can be blended for use in aircraft. There’s also so-called advanced or second-generation biodiesel, made from non-food sources such as crop waste, wood chips and even algae, which avoids competing with food crops.
LONDON — The United States accounted for about a third of the rise in global carbon emissions in 2025, as higher gas prices pushed power producers back to coal, an Energy Institute report showed. Highlights from the report include:
Ithaca, NY — Forests and land play an important role in absorbing carbon dioxide emissions, but current models and forecasts don’t incorporate a new and surprising ecological discovery: Despite more available carbon, climate change and warmer temperatures are slowing forest growth. A new study considers for the first time the impact of the discovery on climate models, finding that one of the most-used land models for determining the impacts of climate change may overestimate forests’ future potential for carbon storage by as much as 30%. “Knowing how well the land will be able to keep taking up carbon in the future is really important,” said first author Brendan Clark. “But the land models are probably underestimating the effects of hotter, drier air on actual growth.” …Clark first learned about the new ecological findings from co-author and ecologist Shan Kothari, at the University of Alberta, and immediately wondered how they might impact climate models. 
Boise Fire Department officials asked the public to leave the popular Ridge to Rivers Trail System and the Bureau of Land Management issued a temporary closure of BLM-managed public lands and trails after a wildfire started in the Boise Foothills on Monday afternoon. Just after 2 p.m. Mountain time Monday, Boise Fire Department officials announced they were responding to a grass fire that started near the 1900 block of N. Claremont Drive. As Tuesday morning, the cause of the fire was unknown and under active investigation. The fire is burning in the Boise Foothills, about two miles northwest of Boise. …The U.S Wildland Fire Service – Great Basin is referring to the fire as the Claremont Fire. The fire has burned an estimated 2,500 acres as of Tuesday morning, the service reported. …According the press release, firefighters are also facing unique challenges within portions of the area’s Military Reserve.
