Category: Building Materials

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a Secretarial Memo establishing an “Emergency Situation Determination” on 112,646,000 acres of National Forestry System (NFS) land. This Memo comes on the heels of President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order to expand American timber production by 25%, empowering the U.S. Forest Service to expedite work on the ground and carry out authorized emergency actions to reduce wildfire risk and save American lives and communities. “Healthy forests require work, and right now, we’re facing a national forest emergency. We have an abundance of timber…

Sawmill and wood preservation firms reported lower capacity utilization rates coupled with level production and capacity throughout 2024. Utilization rates, however, have trended downwards since 2017 as sawmills have expanded production capability, despite no growth in production in 2024. Even with more production capability, real output has not followed as output remains lower than 2018. According to Eye On Housing, Capacity utilization rates are a ratio of actual production and potential production capabilities for firms. The utilization rate for sawmills and wood preservations firms was 64.7% in the fourth quarter on…

With some of the Trump administration’s tariffs on imported goods from Canada, Mexico and China already in place, others are set to take effect in a few weeks. Anticipation is already driving up the cost of building materials used in new residential construction and home remodeling projects. According to AP News, The tariffs are projected to raise the costs that go into building a single-family home in the U.S. by $7,500 to $10,000, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Such costs are typically passed along to the homebuyer…

According to the most recent Producer Price Index (PPI) report published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for inputs to new residential construction—excluding capital investment, labor, and imports—were up 0.5% in February. This was while the increase in January was revised downward to 1.1%. The Producer Price Index measures prices that domestic producers receive for their goods and services, differing from the Consumer Price Index, which measures what consumers pay and includes both domestic products as well as imports. According to Eye On Housing, The inputs to the…

In a post updated as of 9 a.m. ET on March 7, 2025 by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), it was stated that, The situation surrounding tariffs remains fluid, with a flurry of activity in Washington this week. On March 4, President Trump imposed tariffs of 25% on Canadian and Mexican goods entering the U.S. and slapped an additional 10% tariff on Chinese products, which follows an initial 10% tariff last month. Then on March 6, Trump announced a one-month tariff delay until April 2 on all products from…

The urgency for homeowners and construction professionals to embrace fire-resistant building practices has reached a critical peak. especially in the wake of devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. Choosing suitable materials and adopting strategic design approaches stand as the primary line of defense, crucial for mitigating risks and strengthening structures against future fires. According to Los Angeles Times, Concrete has long been celebrated for its robustness and fire-resistant capabilities. Whitney Sander, principal at Sander Architects tells LA Times Studios that concrete is a fantastic option when considering fire-resistant materials. This sentiment underscores concrete’s unparalleled ability to…

With updated trends recently released, the week-to-week framing lumber composite price increased 1.2% on Feb. 7, 2025. Lumber prices are now 13.2% higher compared to one year ago. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) continually tracks the latest lumber prices and futures prices, and provides an overview of the behaviors within the United States framing lumber market. The information is sourced each week using the Random Lengths framing lumber composite price which is comprised using prices from the highest volume-producing regions of the U.S. and Canada. According to NAHB’s…