Rubber and Wood
Pine pulpwood remained the weakest category at just over $5 per ton, marking a seventh consecutive quarterly decline.
North American lumber prices remained under pressure during the week ended October 23, 2026. Western SPF 2×4 held at US$454 per thousand board feet, unchanged from the previous week, while Southern Yellow Pine East Side 2×4 declined 5% to US$448. Weak demand continued to weigh on the market, according to Madison's Lumber Reporter.
Canada and the United States are moving toward renewed trade negotiations after talks collapsed in August. Discussions focus on national-security tariffs affecting lumber, steel and other industries. A potential agreement could remove the additional 10% tariff on Canadian softwood lumber, although anti-dumping and countervailing duties remain a separate issue.
Weyerhaeuser's third-quarter 2026 sales increased to $1.862 billion, but net earnings declined to $61 million from $80 million a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA rose 14% year over year to $248 million, while weaker Wood Products profitability and higher manufacturing costs affected quarterly performance.
Canfor Southern Pine is investing approximately $96 million to modernize its Iron Mountain sawmill in El Dorado, Arkansas, and expand lumber shipping capacity. The phased project is expected to more than double annual net production to approximately 220 million board feet and create around 75 additional jobs.
West Fraser Timber reported an $80 million third-quarter 2026 loss as sales and adjusted EBITDA declined amid weak demand and higher costs. The company plans to indefinitely curtail its Huguley OSB mill in Alabama and Leola lumber mill in Arkansas, with expected fourth-quarter impairment charges of $200 million–$220 million.
Conifex Timber has secured up to C$11 million in Canadian federal funding to modernize its Mackenzie sawmill in British Columbia. The package includes repayable and non-repayable contributions supporting kiln upgrades, automation and production efficiency following an earlier C$30 million federal loan.
West Fraser Timber is expected to report a narrower third-quarter 2026 loss as investors assess lumber pricing, housing demand and mill productivity. Analysts forecast a loss of approximately $0.73 per share on $1.42 billion in revenue, following operational improvements at the company's North American sawmills.
Reclaimed wood specialist Trestlewood has acquired the former J.B. Mill in Burnside, Pennsylvania, establishing its fourth U.S. operating location. The 135-acre property includes hardwood processing, kiln-drying and warehouse facilities, supporting the company's expansion into eastern markets.
Maine's $8 billion forest industry is under pressure from rising logging costs, reduced Canadian tourism and strained cross-border trade relationships. Industry participants remain divided over the benefits of U.S. tariffs, while limited exemptions announced ahead of the November 3 midterm elections offer targeted relief without resolving the broader lumber dispute.
Swedish forest-products group Södra is expanding its North American presence with a new sales office near Boston and a logistics partnership supporting U.S. pulp and sawn timber customers.
Barge Forest Products will invest more than $8.3 million to expand its Macon, Mississippi sawmill with a new production line designed to improve lumber recovery, efficiency and annual production capacity.
More than 200 Canadian lumber producers and exporters will face lower U.S. trade duties after the latest Commerce review cut the combined anti-dumping and countervailing rate to 24.75%. A separate 10% Section 232 tariff keeps the total border burden at 34.75%.
Canadian softwood lumber entering the U.S. now faces a 34.75% combined duty and tariff burden, down from 45.16%. Ontario officials and the BC Lumber Trade Council say the dispute still weighs on producers and U.S. housing costs and are calling for a negotiated settlement.
Canadian softwood lumber entering the U.S. now faces a 34.75% combined duty and tariff burden, down sharply from 45.16%. The relief is substantial, but the effective rate remains more than twice the comparable trade-duty level in 2024.
Southern Yellow Pine traded at US$495/mfbm in the week ended October 2, $31 above Western SPF at US$464. A year earlier, SYP carried a $78 discount—a striking $109 reversal in the relative spread.
Bearlodge Forest Products will close its Hulett, Wyoming sawmill and industrial pallet operations on October 31 after nearly five decades in business. The company cited rising input costs, labor and housing constraints and sustained downward pricing pressure.
A coalition of local RYAM managers, unionized workers and First Nations is pursuing the purchase of the idled Témiscaming mill in Quebec, where production stopped October 4 and approximately 300 workers remain off the job. No acquisition terms, financing structure or reopening timeline have been announced.
A NAFTA panel has upheld the U.S. Commerce Department’s second remand determination in the long-running Canadian softwood lumber subsidy case, effectively ending a challenge launched in 2017. The ruling does not change current duty deposits, with most covered Canadian producers still facing a 35.16% combined AD/CVD rate pending the seventh administrative review.
It seemed like most folks were just waiting for the year to actually wind down into winter, and did not want to change their practice of not loading up their yards with wood.
Western SPF lumber fell 2% week over week to US$464 mfbm in the week ended September 25, while Southern Yellow Pine East Side 2×4 rose 1% to US$503 mfbm, according to Madison’s Lumber Reporter.
Canadian sawmills produced 3.5464 million cubic metres of lumber in July 2026, down 8.6% from June and 6.7% year over year. Shipments fell 10.3% month over month and 7.8% annually to 3.7289 million cubic metres.
U.S. lumber futures fell to $523.50 per thousand board feet on October 5 as high mortgage rates and weak housing demand outweighed North American mill closures, lower Canadian lumber production and heavy duties on Canadian softwood.
The broader agreement would also require Domtar to fund restoration of more than 1,000 acres of sensitive habitat in the watershed, addressing damage that predates the company's own ownership of the site.
The Planning and Zoning Commission added the conditions to its resolution recommending the extension of the permit to Oct. 20, 2028.