Prices for lumber futures contracts are beginning to rise, after drifting down for months. China's homebuilding contraction and a winter hiatus knocked down prices, but they should jump dramatically as U.S. homebuilding surges.

Lumber and veneer finds a greater purpose on holiday weekends - time to fire up the grill. But not just charcoal, this time - get the wood flavor right on to your plate with hickory, alder, cherry and other food-lovin' wood species.

The effects of the strong U.S. dollar are many, one of which is a revival in the French beech sawn timber market.

Home Depot and Lowe's both reported healthy sales first quarter, as the housing recovering and remodeling growth also continued. Housing starts rose 20.2% in April, the Commerce Department, to a rate of 1.135 million. March figures were adjusted upward.

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) today reported net earnings of $673 million for the quarter ended May 1, 2015. Lowe's bought back $1 billion in stock; and expects sales to rise 4.5 percent for the year.

Home Depot reported sales of $20.9 billion for the first quarter 2015, a 6.1 percent increase from 2014. "We had a stronger than expected start to the year as we experienced a more normal spring and continued recovery of the U.S. housing market," said CEO Craig Menear.

StemWood, a New Albany, IN wood veneer and lumber mill, will end operations by the end of 2015. The company cited Asian competition, plummeting lumber prices, and rising costs as reasons for the closure.

Plywood and engineered wood products manufacturer Boise Cascade will invest approximately $43 million to expand its plywood mill in Florien, LA.

Boise Cascade will make a $43 million capital investment to upgrade and increase the capacity of its Florien plywood mill located in Louisiana’s Northwest Region.

The Western pine beetle epidemic, while damaging to forestland, lead to the rise of a number of new businesses creating furniture from the blue stained lumber. With the epidemic on the decline in the West, sources of pine beetle killed wood are declining.