The U.S. and Canada are flirting again. Washington and Ottawa have increased the tempo of their trade talks over the past week. …Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who helped torpedo a previous round of negotiations over the summer, and Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc have been speaking regularly since then. They have primarily discussed Trump’s tariffs on sectors like autos and steel that have been a sticking point for Canada all along. …The uptick in engagement has triggered a flurry of headlines on both sides of the border as well as White House boasts that a deal is near. But unlike Trump, Carney has little political incentive to make concessions at the moment. …The lack of new concessions or tangible breakthroughs is a sign that the recent flurry of outreach may be more of a White House effort to soothe Republicans’ midterm worries.
- Related in NBC News: White House tempers tough talk on Canada trade as inflation tops voter concerns
The U.S. will remove its 50% tariff on certain Canadian thin hardwood plywood, corrugated boxes and coated paperboard from October 30 while imposing the same duty on Canadian thin MDF, hardboard, wood moldings, engineered flooring and kraft paper, according to a 
FORT KENT, Maine — In the heat of US midterm elections, President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada — and Ottawa’s retaliation — have taken center stage in timber-producing Maine, walloped by the economic fallout perhaps more than any other state. Residents in Maine’s frontier towns express worry that the tariffs have also triggered a rupture in cross-border relationships built up over decades, and that the intricate community fabric could take years to repair. …Maine is reluctantly on the front lines of the trade war. …Many logging operations in the nation’s most heavily-forested state are suffering, and cross-border tourism has tanked. Households already struggling with fuel prices are seeing costs of living soar, an issue dominating the midterms. …For two centuries, Canadian mills near Maine have processed vast amounts of its timber. …Not all Maine loggers are upset. Pleasant River Lumber Company aims to expand production.
OTTAWA – Multiple government and industry sources close to trade discussions between Canada and the United States said the momentum of the talks, just recently re-started in earnest, combined with US President Trump’s political vulnerabilities ahead of the midterms leads them to believe there is considerable appetite to strike a deal with Canada. All the sources cautioned an agreement of any sort was far from certain given the past behaviour of Trump and his trade delegates. But, over the last week the White House has shown much more interest in arriving at an agreement “than in all the weeks prior,” according to one of the sources. …Two sources described intense talks over the weekend, that were “all consuming.” Another source with knowledge of talks on both sides of the border said things are moving. …White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said the US was close to a deal with Canada.”
U.S. lawmakers Andrea Salinas and 
Lumber decreased to 514.00 USD/1000 board feet, the lowest since September 2024. Over the past 4 weeks, Lumber lost 2.91%, and in the last 12 months, it decreased 10.33%.
President Donald Trump’s escalating trade fight with Canada is squeezing the economy north of the border, threatening jobs and adding to families’ financial strain as steep U.S. tariffs on roughly $20 billion in goods remain in place. U.S. tariffs have hammered the country’s steel, aluminum, lumber and automobile producers that depend heavily on the American market. Steel exports have fallen by roughly half since the tariffs took effect, while lumber exports were about 20% below 2024 levels earlier this year. Production and jobs have also declined in some of the hardest-hit industries. Canadian families are feeling the squeeze, too. Consumer prices were 3% higher in August than a year earlier, with grocery prices up 2.8% and transportation costs jumping 7.5%, according to the government’s own data. …Scott Lincicome, at the Cato Institute said free trade in products including fertilizer, energy and lumber helps keep costs down for American farmers, homebuilders and consumers.
Lumber futures fell below $527 per thousand board feet, retreating toward a two-year low amid persistent weakness in the US housing market. Homebuilder confidence has fallen to its lowest level in 14 years, as high mortgage rates, labor shortages and high construction costs continue to weigh on the sector. Mortgage rates have climbed to 7.4%, their highest level in three years, raising borrowing costs, dampening housing demand and weighing on prices. On the other hand, trade tensions with Canada continue to constrain lumber availability and pressuring prices. Although the US Department of Commerce lowered antidumping and countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber to 24.75% from 35.16%, a separate 10% US tariff brings total duties to 34.75%, limiting the potential for a supply recovery.
The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced the following new residential sales statistics for September 2026. Sales of new single-family houses in September 2026 were at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 676,000. This is 0.6 percent (±13.8 percent)* below the August 2026 rate of 680,000, and is 5.3 percent (±12.5 percent) below the September 2025 rate of 714,000. The seasonally-adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of September 2026 was 476,000. This is 1.0 percent (±0.9 percent) below the August 2026 estimate of 481,000, and is 2.3 percent (±4.0 percent) below the September 2025 estimate of 487,000. This represents a supply of 8.4 months at the current sales rate. The months’ supply is 1.2 percent (±14.7 percent) below the August 2026 estimate of 8.5 months, and is 2.4 percent (±14.1 percent) above the September 2025 estimate of 8.2 months.
Before the first nail can be hammered for a new house, a different kind of labor is required: dealing with paperwork. The amount of time required to obtain permits varies wildly across the United States. Navigating the bureaucracy in one city can take longer than the time needed to complete the entire project in another. That’s the finding in a 
The total market share of non-site-built single-family homes (modular and panelized) was just 3% of single-family homes in 2025, according to NAHB analysis of completion data from the 
Used cooking oil and crude tall oil originate in different industries, but renewable fuel production connects their commercial value. As demand for suitable feedstocks changes, signals from the used cooking oil market can help explain pricing pressure reaching forest-derived materials. That connection gives tall oil a broader market context. Its value reflects demand from established chemical applications and its role in renewable fuel supply chains. Changes in fuel economics can influence that balance, even when conditions in pulp markets remain relatively steady. 
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,400,000. This is 0.2 percent below the revised August rate of 1,403,000 and is 3.0 percent below the September 2025 rate of 1,444,000. Single-family authorizations in September were at a rate of 845,000; this is 4.0 percent below the revised August figure of 880,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were
WASHINGTON – US single-family homebuilding and permits for future construction fell sharply in September as higher mortgage rates suppressed demand, suggesting residential investment resumed its declining trend in the third quarter. Single-family housing starts, which account for the bulk of homebuilding, dropped 4.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 859,000 units last month, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said on Tuesday. Single-family building permits decreased 4.0% to a rate of 845,000 units. Mortgage rates have surged in recent weeks, with the 30-year fixed rate averaging 7.40% last week. …Slumping sales have led to a glut of unsold houses on the market, further reducing the incentive for developers to break ground on new single-family housing projects. Despite the overhang of new single-family homes, there is a national housing shortage. …Residential investment rebounded in the second quarter, also reflecting renovations. The rise followed five straight quarterly declines.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has 
EUGENE, Oregon – President Trump is widely expected to soon open up some 44 million acres of the country’s last pristine national forests. …With the formal repeal of the Roadless Rule rule expected early next year, the picture on the ground in timber country looks messier. Those who make a living in the forests say the problems are much bigger than access to more trees. …Sean Smith, CEO of the family owned Starfire Lumber in Cottage Grove, Oregon says the industry has more pressing challenges now, starting with the record high price of diesel fuel. Economists largely blame that on Trump’s war with Iran. And then there’s inflation, which is driving up the costs of just about everything. …So repealing the Roadless Rule – which has largely banned new road building and logging projects on some 44 million acres of pristine national forests since 2001 – is lower on the priority list.
L’ANSE, Michigan – The Alberta sawmill, designed by Henry Ford, is being restored by Michigan Tech and the Baraga County Historical Society to allow the public to experience the building. The sawmill opened on Sept. 1, 1936, and closed on June 30, 1954. Michigan Tech operated it for research until the 1980’s, and it was closed for public viewing in the early 2000’s for safety concerns. “This is a really important piece of history for the forest sector, the Keweenaw and this region has done a really good job I think with preserving our history and our knowledge of the mining era and our mining history but in terms of our forestry history, this is one of the few locations that really preserves it, highlights it,” said Mark Rudnicki, Ford Center and Forest director. Restoration work has been underway for years, with new siding donated by Louisiana-Pacific and a new roof recently installed.