Archinect - News

How will Trump’s tariff plans impact the U.S. lumber market?

2025-01-07T17:53:00-05:00

As the imposition of a threatened 25% blanket tariff on Canadian goods including softwood lumber products looms for the end of January, many practices are concerned about how cost increases might impact procurements and the cost of building as the country’s production currently equals an almost 30% market share.

This uncertainty is exacerbated by the fact that many U.S. lumber mills have been affected by high interest rates and labor shortages in recent years, driving down annual production capacity to a point where they alone are incapable of meeting demands, says North Carolina State University economist Rajan Parajuli in a recent interview.

This would of course affect the nationwide cost of construction using such products. The most recent Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data showed an 11.8% uptick in the cost of softwood lumber when compared with the same 12-month period from the year before.

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What does Trump's 20% tariff hike on Canadian softwoods mean for architecture?

2017-04-29T13:51:00-04:00

What will higher timber prices as a result of Trump's new tarriff mean for architecture? Dr. Warren Mabee, who is the Canada Research Chair in Renewable Energy Development and Implementation at Queen's University, told me over the phone that it will likely halt or significantly alter the design and construction of formerly ubiquitous wood-frame residences. "I think one of the big things you're going to see, particularly in the U.S., is that introducing this type of tariff or countervailing duty, is that it will drive up the price of lumber. What that will mean is that for architects who are specializing particularly in residential construction, where there is a lot of wood and wood frame that goes into it, they may find themselves limited in what they can do. So if you're building something that's on a budget or something that's going to use a lot of wood, you may find yourself in a position where the costs are now going to be substantively higher than prior to the tariff being intr...