US sawmill production was unchanged in the third quarter according to the Industrial Production report. Utilization rates for sawmills and wood preservation industries remained near 70% despite a weakened demand environment from lower levels of residential construction in the third quarter of 2025. …The sawmill utilization rate has trended downward since 2017 due to added capacity and stagnant output. However, in the third quarter of 2025, on a four-quarter moving average, the utilization rate rose, as it increased from 68.2% to 68.8%. …Employment in sawmill and wood preservation industries continued to fall, dropping to roughly 85,400 workers in the third quarter. …US softwood lumber imports faced rising duty rates throughout 2025. …These higher duties contributed to import declines in the third and fourth quarters. The fourth quarter import volume was the lowest amount since the first quarter of 2014. Higher duties were not the only market headwind for imports, as residential construction demand faded over the course of 2025.