American officials earlier this week said that the U.S. plans to extend tariffs on B.C. softwood lumber

Since October 2022, quite a few sawmill operators have taken downtime and curtailments. This is normal for the time of year, as usually lumber demand slows in winter and regular maintenance needs to take place, as well as employee vacation time. Over the past few months there has been perhaps a bit more than the usual reduction of lumber manufacturing volumes, as companies chose to be intentionally proactive against prices falling even further than they already were into the end of last year.

VANCOUVER, Canada -- Canfor Corp. is closing one sawmill and pellet plant and temporarily closing a second sawmill. The actions will affect nearly 500 workers, and remove approximately 750 million board feet of annual production capacity. The announcement comes just weeks after the company announced it will permanently shut down its pulp mill in Prince George. Canfor is rationalizing its sawmill and pulp mill operations in B.C. to align with a shrinking fiber supply.

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will indefinitely curtail its Perry Sawmill in Florida later this month.  The company says the  decision is the result of high fiber costs and softening lumber markets.

Canfor Corp. is extending its sawmill curtailments in British Columbia due to ongoing weak market conditions and the lack of available economic fiber. The production capacity will be reduced through two-week curtailment extensions in January at select solid wood facilities in B.C. This will remove approximately 21 million board feet in addition to the 150 million board feet previously announced on December 5, 2022. The company said it plans to continue to adjust operating rates to align with market conditions and the available supply of economically viable timber.

VANCOUVER, BC, -- Sales of new homes in the US have bumped up and down for the second half of this year and recovered upward once again in October. While it is true that a slowdown is apparent in both construction and home buying activity, it is important to note that new building activity year-to-date remains almost even compared to January - October of 2021.

As October drew to a close, significant production curtailments at several large British Columbia lumber producers helped keep softwood lumber prices flat.

The normal seasonal slowdown for construction and building activity in autumn brings a drop in lumber prices.

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It is normal for this time of year for North American construction framing dimension softwood lumber prices to be falling, as the bulk of main home building activity is finished for the season.