Eye On Housing
On November 2, 2017, the Commerce Department announced its final decision to impose duties averaging 20.83 percent on Canadian softwood lumber shipments into the U.S. The impacts of these duties on the U.S. economy next year will include increased production by U.S. sawmills, reduced imports from Canada, and higher prices paid for lumber by consumers in the U.S., which in… Read More ›
For several years now, the recovery in single-family home building has been hampered by shortages of labor and lots. Availability of building materials, meanwhile, has not been much of an issue. But that may be starting to change. In answer to questions on the May 2017 survey for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, 21% of single-family builders reported a shortage… Read More ›
In a previous post, NAHB analyzed the effect of the 19.88% countervailing duty (CVD) levied by the Department of Commerce on Canadian softwood lumber exported to the United States. The NAHB analysis showed that, had that duty been in effect throughout 2017, the effects would include a net loss of 8,241 full-time U.S. jobs. On June 26, the Department of… Read More ›
On April 25, the Department of Commerce levied a 19.88% duty rate against Canadian softwood lumber exports to the United States. Due to “special circumstances,” the duties will be retroactive 90 days from the date that the rates are officially published in the Federal Register, likely back to the beginning of February. Five Canadian lumber producing companies will face specific… Read More ›
Recent NAHB estimates show that a 25 percent volume cap on softwood lumber imported from Canada, had it been in place in 2014, would have resulted in a loss of A previous post showed the impact that a 15 percent tariff on Canadian lumber, the maximum allowed under the expired Softwood Lumber Agreement, would have on U.S. markets. This post takes… Read More ›
Recent NAHB estimates show that a 15% tariff on softwood lumber imported from Canada would have resulted in a loss of had it been applied to all Canadian producers in 2014. NAHB analyzed 15%, because that was the maximum tariff in the Softwood Lumber Agreement that expired last year. NAHB analyzed 2014, because that was a recent year with complete data, seemed representative… Read More ›
The home building industry is facing emerging shortages of key building materials like lumber and wall board, according to surveys conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) in May. Among builders, the highest incidence of shortages was for oriented strand board (OSB), with 22 percent of builders reporting shortages,… Read More ›