Canada's wood products industry is benefiting from the ongoing recovery in U.S. housing and a weaker Canadian dollar, according to The Conference Board of Canada's (Ottawa, Ont., Canada) latest outlook for Canada's wood products industry.

"The continued recovery in the U.S. housing market is supporting increased demand for Canadian wood products, leading to an 8.7% increase in export volumes this year," said Michael Burt, director, Industrial Economic Trends, The Conference Board of Canada. "However, while production should remain strong over the next five years, growth is set to eventually slow due to timber shortages in B.C. and softer growth in demand from China."  Highlights og the report include: 

• Rising production and higher prices mean industry revenues are set to reach nearly $29 billion by 2016 
• Pushed higher by increases in production and rising material costs, industry costs are expected to rise by 8.7% in 2015 
• The spread of the mountain pine beetle continues to pose a risk for Canada's lumber supply.

 

With cost increases forecast to exceed revenue growth, pre-tax profits in the wood manufacturing industry are expected to fall 0.2% to $1.4 billion in 2015. 

 

Various risks cloud the outlook over the medium term. While production will continue to increase, timber supply constraints (a result of the mountain pine beetle infestation) will continue to limit domestic production. These supply problem will plague lumber companies operating in British Columbia's interior and could lead to plant closures. 

 

In addition, the current Canada-U.S. Softwood Lumber Agreement is set to expire this October, which will likely affect Canadian softwood lumber producers' access to the U.S. market.