Slumping U.S. housing market hurts B.C. mills Less work for dependent Western Canadian sawmills
According to the National Association of Realtors in the U.S., American housing starts in January fell to their lowest level since 1997 - not good news for B.C.'s lumber producers.
Gordon Hamilton, Vancouver Sun Published: Thursday, February 22, 2007
Top American homebuilders are walking away from deposits on land options, a clear signal that the slumping U.S. housing market has yet to bottom out, according to a research report by the International Wood Markets Group.
And that means Western Canadian sawmills dependent on the U.S. housing market will have less work this year, report author Peter Butzelaar said Wednesday.
"When I look at the data, I don't believe the builders think the worst is over," Butzelaar said, referring to $1.4 billion the top 10 builders collectively wrote off their balance sheets for the last three months of 2006. "To me, you don't write off future opportunity unless you don't believe there is an economic opportunity there."
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