Finished lumber is run through the wrap-and-strap machine at West Fraser Pacific Inland Resources sawmill in Smithers, B.C. on Feb. 4, 2020.Jesse Winter/Reuters
As the cross-border trade war escalates, Canada’s softwood lumber industry has an advantage on its side that no tariff can completely erase – its product is objectively better than much of the timber harvested from U.S. forests.
Softwood supplies, especially from British Columbia and Alberta, are widely viewed as more desirable for wood framing because the growth rings are tighter than those found in lumber in the U.S. South.
It takes 70 to 100 years before spruce, pine and fir (SPF) trees are considered ripe for harvesting in the B.C. Interior. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. WFG-T, Canada’s largest softwood company, produces SPF lumber at its sawmill in the town of Smithers and other locations.
In the milder climate of the U.S. South, the growing season is much faster. It takes about 35 years before southern yellow pine (SYP) trees are harvested. SYP meets building standards and remains a popular choice because of its versatility.
Canadian producers enjoy bragging rights for the superiority of SPF, but they don’t always emphasize that because the softwood markets of Canada and the U.S. are intertwined. Production has increased at U.S. sawmills in the past decade, including at facilities owned by companies with head offices in Canada.
Canada’s secret weapon, however, is hiding in plain sight. Tighter growth rings tend to result in quality two-by-four or two-by-six SPF boards for home builders, meaning walls that will stay straight.
Finished lumber is seen at West Fraser Pacific Inland Resources sawmill in Smithers, B.C. on Feb. 4, 2020. Canadian softwood lumber as pictured here features tighter growth rings than lumber from the U.S. South.Jesse Winter/Reuters
“Southern yellow pine has wider growth rings. Therefore, it twists more and it warps and splits more easily,” said Josh Sawatzky, owner of Madera Forest Products Inc., which is based in Acheson, Alta., located 20 kilometres west of Edmonton.
Compared with American SYP lumber, Canadian SPF is also lighter in weight.
“The durability of our product for construction is superior,” said Mr. Sawatzky, whose company remanufactures lumber into specialty products.
As part of his escalation of the trade war, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly asserted that the United States has plenty of forests with timber supplies. He dismisses the role of Canadian softwood, claiming in January: “We don’t need their lumber. We have massive fields of lumber.”
The reality is that softwood production from U.S. sawmills accounts for about 70 per cent of American domestic consumption. While foreign contributions have fallen over the past decade, Canada still chips in 24 per cent and the rest is from other countries, mostly in Europe.
Only a small amount of U.S. lumber gets sold in Canada – just 0.7 per cent of American softwood production ends up north of the border. By contrast, more than 58 per cent of Canadian lumber output is sold annually in the U.S., said Vancouver-based forestry analyst Russ Taylor.
“U.S. beer is considered by Canadians to be average, pretty watery and kind of boring,” he said in an interview. “Canadian beer is premium, you might say, just like Canadian lumber is premium.”
SPF is easy to work with and often preferred for framing in home building, said Ric Slaco, an industry consultant and former chief forester at Interfor Corp. IFP-T
Nails and screws go through SPF more easily than through SYP.
SPF lumber is produced in several provinces and also in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Mr. Slaco emphasizes that both SPF and SYP are needed to meet American demand.
Benchmark prices for Western SPF have rallied 38 per cent since mid-2024, according to data compiled by Keta Kosman, publisher of Madison’s Lumber Reporter, a Vancouver-based industry newsletter.
Eastern SYP, which is cheaper for wood framing in markets in the U.S. South and is also suitable for uses such as fencing and decking, is currently selling at lower prices when compared with SPF.
“SYP is an imperfect substitute for SPF,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Matthew McKellar said in a research note.
SPF and SYP prices are still down roughly two-thirds from the record highs reached in the spring of 2021.
The Canada-U.S. softwood showdown dates back to the early 1980s. Federal and provincial governments view their southern neighbour as protectionist after decades of the U.S. placing restrictions on Canadian softwood. The Americans argue that Canadian lumber is unfairly subsidized and dumped into the U.S. market.
In March, Mr. Trump kept Canada’s softwood industry in his sights, placing it on the list of sectors in which he has threatened to impose 25-per-cent tariffs.
B.C. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar has warned that new U.S. tariffs would be stacked on top of existing softwood duties of 14.4 per cent imposed on most Canadian lumber shipments south of the border. The U.S. duties are expected to double by late 2025.
Canada began only recently to slap tariffs on U.S. lumber shipments. In a retaliatory move on March 4, the federal government started to impose 25-per-cent tariffs on a selection of U.S. goods, which includes wood products.
In the latest round of the long-running lumber battle, the U.S. began implementing duties on Canadian softwood in 2017. Over the past eight years, Canadian producers have paid more than US$7-billion in duties.
The influential U.S. Lumber Coalition, which has the backing of many U.S. senators and members of the House of Representatives, said the cost of softwood is a tiny part of the total costs for a new home, including land value.
“If Canada does not like the import duties, simply stop engaging in unfair trade and stop violating our trade laws,” coalition executive director Zoltan van Heyningen said in a news release.
The U.S. National Association of Home Builders, however, asserts that consumers and the construction industry are footing the bill of lumber prices that have risen during the trade war. “NAHB believes that any move in the short term to add tariffs or hinder the flow of lumber from Canada will only harm housing affordability,” the association said in a statement.
Earlier this month, Mr. Trump ordered a new U.S. investigation into lumber that is global in scope. An executive order launched the probe that could result in introducing tariffs globally on softwood imports and another order is designed to spur lumber production within the United States.
The current U.S. anti-dumping duty rate is 7.66 per cent and anti-subsidy rate is 6.74 per cent imposed on most Canadian producers, totalling 14.4 per cent.
It will be difficult for the U.S. to become self-sufficient in its own domestic lumber market, said Dustin Jalbert, U.S.-based senior economist at Fastmarkets, which is an international company that tracks commodities.
“U.S. dependency on Canadian wood products remains quite high,” he said in a research note.