Recent Increases in U.S. Housing Starts Give Big Boost to Timber Industry
Lynn Michaelis, Forestry Economist
Stations the following is a news announcement. Suggested lead in 3,2,1….
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Rapidly growing demand for lumber is good news for timber-producing communities across the South. Over the past year lumber producers have announced more than a billion dollars of capital investment in the region to take advantage of this trend.
Forestry economist Lynn Michaelis has been studying the market dynamics of the industry for decades and says the key ingredients are in place for a surge in prices for southern timber during the next five years.
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IT COMES DOWN TO SUPPLY AND DEMAND. RECENT INCREASES IN U.S. HOUSING STARTS ARE NOW PROJECTED TO REACH MORE THAN 1.5 MILLION ANNUALLY AND INCREASED EXPORTS REFLECT A SUSTAINED DEMAND FOR LOGS AND LUMBER IN ASIA, PRIMARILY CHINA. MEANWHILE, HARVESTING IN CANADA, WHICH WAS DECIMATED BY AN HISTORIC INFESTATION OF THE MOUNTAIN PINE BEETLE, WILL REMAIN LIMITED FOR MANY YEARS TO COME
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Michaelis says the surge in capital investment reveals a growing confidence in the future of the timber industry in the south.