Total revenue in the logging industry declined by 4.9% from 2022 to $11.7 billion in 2023. The shares of total revenue were split equally between the contract logging Canadian industry and the logging (except contract) Canadian industry. Revenue from logging activities—which excludes revenue from other sources, such as secondary business activities—fell by 4.4% from 2022 to $10.9 billion in 2023. Contributing to this decline in revenues was a 16.2% decrease in the average annual price for logs, pulpwood and other forestry products, as measured by the Raw Materials Price Index. Total expenses from logging activities declined by $624.3 million year over year to $11.1 billion in 2023. …In 2023, the top five logging provinces accounted for 96.4% of Canada’s revenue from logging activities. Despite three of the top five provinces recording increases in revenue from logging activities, the most notable change was in British Columbia (-$714.2 million to $4.7 billion).
VANCOUVER, BC — West Fraser Timber declared a quarterly dividend of US$0.32 per share on the Common shares and Class B Common shares in the capital of the Company, payable on January 14, 2025 to shareholders of record on December 27, 2024. Dividends are designated to be eligible dividends pursuant to subsection 89(14) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and any applicable provincial legislation pertaining to eligible dividends.
Canada’s central bank has cut interest rates for the fifth consecutive time as the country’s economy grows at a slower rate than projected. The 50-basis-point cut comes Canada’s economy grew by one per cent in the third quarter of 2024, and the fourth quarter is looking weaker than projected, according to the Bank of Canada. “Monetary policy no longer needs to be clearly in restrictive territory,” said Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem. Macklem noted consumer spending and housing activity both picked up as a result of lower interest rates. Another factor in cutting the interest rate was Canada’s unemployment rate rising to 6.8% in November as the bank says the number of people looking for work has increased faster than the number of jobs. …In making its decision, the bank cited the incoming U.S. administration and the threat of 25% tariffs on Canadian exports to the U.S., adding increased uncertainty and clouding the economic outlook.
Lumber prices dropped below $570 per thousand board feet in December, marking a near one-month low, driven by strong supply and subdued demand. Rising production in the U.S., which is becoming more self-sufficient, has boosted supply, particularly in the U.S. South. While sawmill closures in Canada have had some impact, they have not significantly curtailed overall supply. Additionally, U.S. building permits continued their decline in October, dropping 0.6% following a 3.1% decrease the previous month, while housing starts fell 3.1%, missing expectations. Broader trends suggest ongoing challenges, including a rise in new home inventory, adding to over supply. Still, the potential impact of President-elect Trump’s proposed tariffs on Canadian lumber exports remains uncertain.
Re: Trump’s announcement of 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico. …While the announcement garnered much attention, few traders considered the threat credible, and the industry as a whole took a wait-and-see approach to the news. In Western S-P-F, upward price momentum paused as the US holiday approached. Buyers had an easier time covering immediate needs, and declined to extend inventories, especially in spots where winter weather had settled in. Lumber futures was little changed in early trading. Buyers across the South lacked urgency amid abundant supplies of most items. Downward price pressure was unabated. Many veteran traders noted that the price spread between Southern Pine and Western S-P-F was the widest they had seen in their careers and expressed surprise that species substitution was not more prevalent. In Coast markets, upward price momentum and tight supplies kept prices trending higher in uneventful trading. 
President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to impose sweeping new tariffs on imports, leading his critics to argue that the plan will raise prices and spur inflation. …Nearly 10% of building materials used in residential construction are imported, according to the NAHB… and Canada probably accounts for the bulk of those imports. “Any tariffs that raise the cost of building products will have a detrimental effect on housing affordability,” says NAHB CEO Jim Tobin. ….A steep tariff on Canadian lumber would likely hit homebuilders the hardest—and could raise the prices of new homes, at least temporarily. But observers are skeptical that Trump would impose a steep, immediate tariff on such a fundamental raw material imported from a close ally. NAR’s Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said that it’s possible any tariff on lumber could be imposed over a ramp-up period to allow U.S. timber mills to boost production.
ONTARIO — Housing starts over the next few years will likely weaken and the already dire supply shortage could get even worse, warns a new report prepared for the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON). Further, employment in new residential construction has peaked and will likely keep declining for the next several years at least. Entitled Housing Market Outlooks in Ontario, the report from economic research firm Will Dunning Inc. concludes that new housing starts will continue to decline “well into 2025, followed by a slow recovery of the economy and housing activity during 2026 to 2028. By the end of 2028, conditions will not have fully recovered.” Richard Lyall, RESCON president, described the findings as “particularly worrisome for builders as they point to a weakening residential construction market at the very time we need to build more housing.
The Forest Service sells timber that can be used to build homes and make paper products, among other things… Goals for timber sales are set yearly but the Forest Service has missed those goals by about 10% in recent years. According to the agency, factors such as staffing and buyer interest affected timber sales… The Forest Service’s average timber target was about 6,281,000 hundred cubic feet (CCF) per year, and its average amount of timber sold was about 5,590,000 CCF per year, from fiscal years 2014 through 2023. The Forest Service did not meet its targets for the amount of timber sold for any of the years from fiscal years 2014–2023. Full report available 
WASHINGTON — U.S. single-family homebuilding rebounded in November as the drag from hurricanes faded, but the threat of tariffs on imported goods and potential labor shortages from mass deportations could hamper new construction next year. Single-family housing starts, which account for the bulk of homebuilding, jumped 6.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.011 million units last month, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said. Data for October was revised to show homebuilding declining to a rate of 950,000 units from the previously reported pace of 970,000 units. …A National Association of Home Builders survey on Tuesday showed a measure of sales expectations in the next six months surging in December to the highest level since April 2022. …But economists were less enthusiastic, warning of even higher lumber prices and severe worker shortages if Trump followed through with tariffs and expulsions of undocumented immigrants, which would undermine the housing market.
Building Permits – Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,505,000. This is 6.1% above the revised October rate of 1,419,000. Single-family authorizations in November were at a rate of 972,000; this is 0.1% above the revised October figure of 971,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 481,000 in November. ..Privately-owned housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,289,000. This is 1.8% below the revised October estimate of 1,312,000. Single-family housing starts in November were at a rate of 1,011,000; this is 6.4% above the revised October figure of 950,000. The November rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 264,000. …Privately-owned housing completions in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,601,000. This is 1.9% below the revised October estimate of 1,632,000. 
The inventory destocking that occurred in virtually every industry in 2023 is coming to an end. Destocking occurred as supply chains normalized in a post-COVID world.
WASHINGTON, DC – The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) increased 0.4 points in November to 75.0, continuing its sharp upward trend over the past year as consumers appear to be acclimating to the higher mortgage rate and home price environment. This month, a new record-high share of consumers indicated that they expect mortgage rates to decline over the next 12 months, while fewer respondents said they expect home prices to rise. While only 23% believe it’s a “good time to buy a home,” on net that component continued its upward trend, and is now notably higher than last November’s share of 14%. The share of respondents saying it’s a “good time to sell” remained flat month over month but is also up from last year. Year over year, the HPSI is up 10.7 points.
The U.S. exported 839,226.4 metric tons of wood pellets in October, down from 898,128.2 metric tons the previous month, but up from 835,490.8 metric tons in October 2023, according to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. The U.S. exported wood pellets to approximately a dozen countries in October. The U.K. was the top destination for U.S. wood pellet exports at 700,824 metric tons, followed by Denmark at 92,850.8 metric tons. The value of U.S. wood pellet exports fell to $154.72 million in October, down from $167.05 million in September and $155.41 million in October of last year. Total wood pellet exports for the first 10 months of 2024 reached 8.25 million metric tons at a value of $1.53 billion.
The uptick in fuel prices will likely be temporary, said Ken Simonson, chief economist at the Associated General Contractors of America. However, the broader uncertainty tied to potential trade policy changes under the incoming Trump administration presents a new layer of unpredictability for contractors. …Future prices for crude oil and copper, typically reliable predictors of upcoming producer price index shifts, have recently declined. That indicates the potential for a near-term dip in energy input costs, he said. Contractors have largely benefited from input price stabilization in 2024. As of October, contractors expect their profit margins to expand through the first quarter of 2025. …“The next administration’s trade policy increases uncertainty regarding construction material costs,” said Basu. “Beyond the implications of potential tariffs, input prices may rise in the short term if purchasers rush to import materials prior to the implementation of those policies.”
The Lane County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to approve a property tax exemption for Weyerhaeuser’s planned improvements to its Cottage Grove sawmill, a move officials say will help secure high-paying jobs in the region while ensuring the timber company remains competitive. Weyerhauser, a Seattle-based timber company, applied for the exemption to delay paying taxes on a planned $120 million upgrade to the sawmill, which it says currently employs 225 people. Under the agreement, Weyerhaeuser will save $7.2 million in property taxes over five years, but the company must make a 10% “community benefit payment,” which will be shared by the South Lane School District and the Cottage Grove Community Medical Center Foundation. Additionally, state law mandates Weyerhaeuser pay supplemental fees to the school district in the fourth and fifth years of the exemption.
Policymakers are looking out for indications of what President-elect Donald Trump plans to do to ease housing costs next year. …Trump has spoken frequently of his proposed 60% tariff on goods from China, which he has said would create more manufacturing jobs in the US. …But housing economists and other experts say that could be bad news for building more affordable housing. Selma Hepp, chief economist for CoreLogic, a financial services company, said tariffs are one of her main concerns about the effects of a second Trump term. “One of the biggest concerns is not just lumber [costs], but the overall cost of materials, which have been going up,” Hepp said. Kurt Paulsen, professor of urban planning in the department of planning and landscape architecture at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, said building costs are already high from tariffs on Canadian lumber.
Exports of Southern Pine lumber (treated and untreated) are running 17% ahead of 2023 through the first three quarters of 2024, according to September data from the USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Services’ Global Agricultural Trade System. Southern Pine lumber exports were down 10% in the third quarter of 2024 over the prior quarter but up 11% over the same period in 2023. Exports were up 3% over August and up 20.9% over September 2023. …When looking at the report by dollar value, Southern Pine exports between January and September 2024 are running 9% ahead of the same period in 2023 at $168.7 million, with Mexico leading the way at $46.6 million, followed by the Dominican Republic at $41.3 million, and India at $13.1 million. Treated lumber exports, meanwhile, are flat over the year at $103.1 million led by Jamaica with $17.6 million, the Leeward-Windward Islands at $16.1 million, and the Dominican Republic at $8.4 million.
DUBLIN, Ireland —The housing affordability crisis that has frustrated young Americans for a decade has now taken hold in many big cities in Europe and beyond. The common threads: robust job growth, rising demand and not enough new development, causing rents and sales prices to rise faster than wages. Globally, homes are now less affordable than they were in the run-up to the 2008 housing crisis. …The resulting housing crunches are eroding living standards for poor and middle-class workers, intensifying wealth inequality and stoking political tensions. …In the 50 years through 2021, the countries with the sharpest rise in home prices around the world have been New Zealand, the U.K., Canada, Australia and Ireland. …Politicians in Canada, the U.K., Australia, Germany and South Korea are trying to boost construction by easing rules, including opening up undeveloped land for construction. National governments, though, are hamstrung by state and local rules that favor existing homeowners over renters, Hughes and Hilber said..jpg?sfvrsn=53e87d1e_3)
Exports from Finland’s forest industry reached Euro 3.16 billion in the third quarter of 2024, marking a 15% increase compared to the same period in 2023, according to the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke). Key contributors to the export value included paper (22%), cardboard (29%), pulp (21%), lumber (16%), and plywood (4%). …For the third quarter, total wood imports reached 1.37 million m3, 74% higher than in the corresponding period last year but down 1% from the second quarter of 2024. Of these imports, 68% were pulpwood, 21% were chips, and less than 2% were sawlogs. The wood product industry contributed Euro 0.76 billion in Q3 exports, reflecting an 18% year-on-year increase but a 16% decrease from Q2 2024. Lumber exports rose by 30% in value and 14% in volume compared to Q3 2023, while plywood exports increased by 9% in value and 19% in volume.
The U.K. is expected to import a record 9.641 million metric tons of wood pellets in 2024, according to a report filed with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s Global Agricultural Information Network in November. The expected record in wood pellet imports for 2024 follows a significant decrease in U.K. wood pellet imports in 2023 and 2023, which the report attributes to changes in global wood pellet prices and competition from other energy sources. The U.K. primarily uses wood pellets for industrial energy production, with more than 93% of the country’s wood pellet demand in 2024 expected to be used for that purpose. …The U.S. is the largest supplier of wood pellets to the U.K., accounting for 73% of imports in 2023 by volume. Other sources of U.K. pellet imports are Canada, Latvia, the Netherlands, Estonia and Brazil.