Trade Bodies Split over Lumber Industry Impacts on U.S. Housing Markets
It must be noted that softwood lumber from Canada accounts for approximately 85% of the American lumber imports and nearly one-fourth of the total U.S. supply.
SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Significant trade associations have expressed differing opinions regarding the main causes of the U.S. housing market slump.
The main causes of the housing market downturn, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), are the continuous fluctuations in timber costs and the recent ambiguities surrounding lumber tariffs.
It should be mentioned that around 85% of American lumber imports and about a quarter of the whole U.S. supply of softwood lumber come from Canada. The 14.5% anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duty that is presently applied to Canadian imports is set to rise to 35% later this year.
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NAHB CEO Jim Tobin stated that he agreed with President Trump's goal of establishing equitable and balanced international trade.
The US Lumber Coalition, on the other hand, disagreed with the NAHB's assessment, claiming that the fall in home affordability is not due to the sharp collapse in lumber prices. Additionally, the trade association criticized Canadian industry practices, claiming that the U.S. lumber business has suffered as a result of unfair trade tactics.
Home affordability has been impacted by a number of reasons, including increased regulatory costs, land costs, and home builder profitability rates, according to Zoltan van Heyningen, executive director of the US Lumber Coalition.