Lumber prices seem to be rising in the U.S., making building with Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs) more affordable than ever!
A study by economists of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) shows that the increase in the cost of lumber since the beginning of 2017 has been enough to drive up the price of an average new single-family home by $6,388 and the market value of an average new multi-family housing unit by $2,430. The study also shows that while tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber were designed to boost employment in the U.S., they will instead result in the net loss of 9,370 jobs in 2018.
And while an increase of over 1,000 jobs in U.S. sawmills is expected, there’s also an expected loss of over 10,500 jobs in all other industries because there are millions more jobs that depend on lumber than there are jobs in domestic lumber production. What this means is that nearly nine jobs will be lost in other U.S. industries for every job gained in domestic sawmills as a result of the Canadian softwood lumber tariffs.
To discuss the growing problem of escalating lumber prices that are being exacerbated by tariffs on Canadian lumber imports into the U.S., NAHB Chairman Randy Noel, CEO Jerry Howard and some senior staff met recently with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
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