The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition lumber producers have been enjoying an upswing thanks to the recovery in the U.S. housing market and strong Asian demand. The Globe's Bertrand Marotte writes, however, lumber remains a volatile commodity and prices can correct quite suddenly. At West Fraser Timber, investors will be closely watching the company's second-quarter earnings outlook -- to be unveiled Thursday -- given the many external pressures on the sector. RBC analyst Paul Quinn recently upgraded West Fraser to outperform from sector perform. Asian demand is "holding up better than some feared," he said in a report. "While there has been much talk in the trade of a slowdown in Chinese log/lumber demand, we believe this has been somewhat exaggerated on the lumber side." B.C. export volumes to China rose 23 per cent month-over-month in May and were 62.4 per cent higher than a year ago. Mr. Quinn also sees a strong U.S. housing market recovery. CIBC's Mark Kennedy is less cheery. The rate of improvement in U.S. housing starts is "more gradual than we thought 12 months ago," he said in an industry outlook. Also, he views Chinese buying as turning more modest on a property slowdown.